United
by Staryday
Summary: One day Cloud wakes up and his parents have vanished, leaving him to raise his twin brothers, Roxas and Sora alone. Months later, his mother returns only to give him another child to care for, Harry Potter, and disappear again. At his wits end, Cloud runs away with the kids, hoping to discover the truth of his parent's disappearance and unravel the mystery surrounding Harry Potter.
1. Leaving

**A/N: So a few years ago, I was really big into fanfiction and read and wrote a lot. Now I'm only mildly into reading it but still enjoying writing it very much. However, I feel I should warn you now, this story will be slow to update. Very slow.**

**This is a Kingdom Hearts/Harry Potter AU crossover. The main characters will be Sora and Roxas (who are twins in this), Harry, and Cloud. As of now, there are no pairings. If that changes later on, I will let you know.**

**Also, I have no beta, so there may be a couple mistakes scattered about. Apologies in advanced for them.**

**Chapter One: Leaving**

Cloud woke up slowly, blinking his eyes as the morning light assaulted them. He groaned in annoyance and pulled his blanket over his spiky blonde hair. Just as he was about to fall back asleep, a creak caught his attention, followed by the sound of soft footsteps. The overwhelming feeling of being watched forced Cloud to pull the covers down and look towards his bedroom door. Standing there were two small boys, both sporting gravity defying hair. To anyone else, the boys were identical, but Cloud could spot the small differences between his twin brothers. Sora was the bolder of the two; he had lead them into the room. Roxas hung back, ready to run if Cloud became angry for being woken up.

"What do you two want?" the teenager demanded.

The little boys looked at each other. On cue, both their stomachs growled loudly.

Cloud lay back down. "Go wake up mom if you're hungry."

"Momma's not home," Sora's squeaky voice said.

"Then get dad."

"Daddy's gone too," Roxas said.

Frowning, Cloud sat up. It was unlike his parents to leave before breakfast. The few times they had in the past, they always let Cloud know beforehand so that he could wake up early and take care of his brothers.

"Go downstairs, I'll be there in a minute."

The twins ran out of the room and stomped their way to the kitchen. Cloud rolled his eyes and headed to the bathroom. He took care of his morning business before stopping and knocking on the door to his parent's room. When no one answered, Cloud peered inside. The room was immaculate and empty. His brother's had been telling the truth; his parents were gone.

Shrugging, Cloud made his way to the kitchen. He smiled lightly as he entered and saw Roxas and Sora sitting at the table with large bowls in front of them. He walked over to the cupboard.

"You want the marshmallow cereal or rice crispy?"

"Pancakes!" the boys yelled in unison.

Cloud glared at them. "You're getting cereal. Pick one of I'll pick for you."

"Marshmallow!" Roxas said.

"Both!" Sora exclaimed with a large grin.

Roxas looked at Sora in shock. "We can have both?" he whipped around to Cloud. "I want both too!"

Cloud rolled his eyes but grabbed both types of cereal. He didn't feel up to arguing with a couple of six year-old's so early in the morning. After pouring the cereal, Cloud grabbed the milk from the fridge. He sighed as he realized there was only enough left for his brothers' breakfast. He poured the milk and tossed the carton away, walking to the counter where his mother kept the shopping list.

Cloud picked up the notepad and paused as he a folded piece of paper fell out of it. Curious, Cloud opened the note and frowned in confusion. His mother's neat handwriting spelled out a simple message.

_We love you all. Please don't ever forget that._

Underneath the message was his father's handwriting, spelling out bank account information, passwords, answers to security questions, and his and his wife's social security numbers. Cloud quickly left the kitchen to go to his father's den. Important information like this shouldn't be left lying around; he needed to put it somewhere safe right away.

Cloud opened the door to his father's study and stopped in surprise. His father was a computer technician and his den was always full of computer parts and various lap tops. Today, however, it was clean with no sign of computers anywhere. His dad's desktop and laptop were gone and the room was clean.

A noise behind him, startled Cloud and he turned to see his brother's standing in the doorway, watching him. Cloud frowned.

"If you're done with breakfast, go get ready for school."

The boys dashed off, laughing. Cloud sighed as he heard them stomp upstairs. He placed the note with all the information in the top drawer of his father's desk and left, shutting the door behind him. A loud crash and sudden silence from upstairs made Cloud sigh.

"If you two broke something of mine, you're in big trouble!" he shouted.

He heard his brothers slam a door and shook his head. Whatever they broke, Cloud would make sure to tell his mother and let her deal with it. Right now, he needed to get ready for school.

* * *

"I'm home!" Cloud shouted, entering the living room and tossing his backpack down. He paused, waiting to here the sound of stomping feet and yelling that always occurred when he got back from school. His brother's were in first grade and so got out of school before he did. They always greeted him by running down the stairs and crashing into his legs.

Today though, no one came to see him at the door. Figuring their mom probably took the twins out of ice cream, Cloud head into the kitchen to make himself a snack. The answering machine blinked with a new message and the teen hit play on his way to the fridge.

"Two new messages. First new message, received at 1:45pm." The mechanical voice of the machine was replaced by the soft voice of a woman. "Hello, this message if for Mr. or Mrs. Strife. This is Mrs. Callaway at the elementary school. Roxas and Sora missed the bus today. They're both waiting with the after school program but someone will have to come pick them up. Please give us a call so we know when you're coming."

The message ended and Cloud rolled his eyes. The next message began. "Second message, received at 2:56pm." The same soft voice from the first message was back. "Hello, this is Mrs. Callaway again at the elementary school. We haven't heard from you yet and just wanted to make sure you got our message that you need to pick up Sora and Roxas from school today. The after school program does end at three. Please call us as soon as you get this, thank you."

Cloud glanced at the clock as the message finished playing. It was 3:30. His mother was probably at the school right now or on her way home. His dad didn't get off of work until four. Cloud finished making his sandwich and was just about to walk into the living room when the phone rang. He snatched it off the hook.

"Hello?"

"Hello is Mr. or Mrs. Strife available?"

"They're not here, can I take a message."

"This is Mrs. Callaway from the elementary school. I've been trying to get a hold of them all afternoon. Roxas and Sora missed the bus and need to get picked up."

Cloud swallowed a bite of his sand which. "I thought my mom was already there."

"No one has called and all the other students have left. I can stay with the boys but I need to be home by four."

"Okay, I'll call my dad at work and see if he can leave early. Thank you for staying with them."

"Of course. See you soon."

Cloud hung up and dialed his father's phone number. It rang twice before a loud voice answered. "Computer Parts and Repairs, this is Collin, how may I help you today?"

"Hey Collin, it's Cloud, is my dad there?"

"No actually," Collin's voice was surprised. "He didn't come into work today. Didn't call or anything."

"He didn't come in today?" Cloud repeated in shock.

"No, I was a little worried, it isn't like him to not show up."

"Yeah..."

"Everything okay, Cloud?"

"Yeah, I've got to go. Thanks Collin."

Cloud hung up the phone and turned to go to the garage. He was really starting to get worried about his parents now. He opened the garage door and was shocked to see a brand new car sitting there. It was a yellow, four door vehicle. The paint was so new it shined even in the dim light of the garage. Cloud spotted a note on the windshield and grabbed it.

His father's untidy handwriting greeted him. _Cloud, an early birthday present. It's completely paid off and the insurance is paid in full for the next year. Please don't ever forget how much we love all of you._

Cloud barely stopped himself from jumping up and down in joy. His parents had gotten him a new car! He ran around to the driver's side and climbed in. The interior smelled like new leather and plastic and Cloud took a deep breath, savoring his first moment in his new car. The keys were in the ignition and he started the car, smiling widely when the engine turned over, purring quietly. The speedometer read ten and Cloud barely managed to control a happy giggle. The car was so new it had only ever been driven ten miles.

He looked at the back seat and frowned slightly, seeing two child seats buckled into the back. He supposed he couldn't complain. His parents must have paid a lot of money to get his this gift, the least he could do was put up with having to drive his brothers around sometimes. Suddenly remembering his brothers, Cloud decided he would go to the school. If his mom beat him there, he was fine with that. It would give him an excuse to drive around his new car.

* * *

Cloud parked his car in the driveway. His mother liked to park in the garage and he wanted the neighbors to see his new ride. Sora and Roxas were laughing in the back seat, exclaiming how awesome the new car was. Cloud unbuckled both of them and the twins ran inside the house, calling out loudly. Cloud followed them in, shutting the door.

"We're home!" he yelled. "I went and picked up the twins in my new car!" Cloud peeked into the living room, looking for his parents. "I'm sorry if I wasn't supposed to use see it yet but I found it in the garage. It's freaking awesome!" Cloud knocked on the door to his dad's den. "Dad?" he peered inside but it was empty.

Roxas and Sora came down the stairs, looking confused. "Mommy and daddy aren't here."

Cloud frowned and walked through the kitchen to the garage. His parent's car was still gone. "They must have gone out and forgot to tell us." Cloud shrugged, ignoring the nagging feeling in his chest that something was wrong. He looked down at his brothers; the little boys were biting their lips worriedly. "Well runts, I guess you're going to starve tonight."

The twins looked up at him, horrified.

"But we're hungry!"

"Yeah really hungry!"

Cloud shut the door to the garage. "Well I guess I could feed you dinner. But don't get used to it."

Sora and Roxas ran into the kitchen and threw themselves into chairs. They smiled at Cloud, the picture of innocence. Cloud rolled his eyes and made his way to the fridge to see what was in there he could make.

* * *

The next morning, Cloud woke up with a jolt. He rubbed his eyes and looked around the living room. After putting the twins to bed the night before, Cloud had come downstairs to wait in the living room for his parents to arrive home. He wanted thank them for getting him a new car. The sun was just starting to come up and Cloud stretched. He wandered to the kitchen and stopped, frowning at Sora and Roxas. His brothers were sitting at the table, holding hands and looking sad.

"What are you two doing awake?" Cloud asked, making the boys jump. "You don't need to be up for another couple of hours."

"Mommy and daddy still aren't home," Sora told him quietly.

"What?"

Cloud turned around and climbed the stairs two at time. He knocked gently on his parent's bedroom door before sticking his head in. The room was exactly as it was yesterday. The bed didn't look like it had been slept in at all. Turning on his heel, Cloud went straight to the garage. He opened the door and was shocked that his parent's car wasn't there. It was too early for his father to have gone to work and his mother was a stay at home mom. Cloud shut the door and turned to see his brother's staring at him hopefully.

"They probably had something to do early today," Cloud assured the boys. "Go back to bed. I'll get you up when its time for school."

The little boys reluctantly did as they were told. Frowning, Cloud searched the counter, hoping to find a note from his parents explaining their absence. When he came up empty handed, Cloud searched his father's den, but again came up empty handed. Worried, Cloud tried to call their cell phones, but was shocked when each number came up disconnected. Not knowing what to do, Cloud made his way upstairs to shower and hoped that his mom and dad would be back by the time he was done.

* * *

When Cloud arrived home from school that day, he was worried when he found no sign of his parents. He barely had time to look in the garage for a car when the doorbell ran. Quickly, Cloud answered it.

"Cloud!"

Cloud was almost knocked over as his brother's tackled his legs. He placed a hand on each of their backs, noticing that Sora was crying.

"Hey runts..."

Cloud looked up to see his neighbor, Mrs. Lane standing in the doorway. She looked unhappy and was peering inside the house curiously.

"Cloud, are your parents home?"

Cloud shook his head. "Not right now. What's going on?"

"You're mother didn't meet the bus today," Mrs. Lane explained. "Sora and Roxas were locked out of the house."

"Mommy said if we ever get locked out to go to Ms. Lane," Roxas explained.

Cloud smiled at him. "That's right, I'm proud of you for remembering that."

"I remembered too!" Sora cried.

"Good job, Sora," Cloud soothed. "Why don't you two go upstairs and play? I'll come check on you in a minute."

The twins nodded and dashed away, stomping loudly. Cloud turned to his neighbor. "Thanks for watching them."

"Of course. Is everything alright?"

The teen hesitated. "I don't know..." he looked the woman, worry shining in his eyes. "I haven't seen my parents since before yesterday."

Mrs. Lane looked concerned. "Are they alright?"

Cloud shrugged. "I don't know. Dad hasn't been to work and both their phones are shut off."

"Cloud, that doesn't sound right. Perhaps you should call someone?"

"Yeah," Cloud agreed slowly. "I'll call some of their friends. Maybe my dad's work too."

"Okay, you'll let me know if you need anything?" She placed a hand on his arm. "I'm sure everything's fine, Cloud."

"Yeah, I'm sure everything's fine too. Thanks Mrs. Lane."

* * *

The next morning Cloud jolted awake. The living room was empty and he hurriedly checked the house, finding no sign of his parents. Sora and Roxas woke early again and cried when their mother still wasn't home. Cloud had a rough morning getting them ready for school. Once they were safely on the bus, Cloud began calling everyone he could think of that might have talked to his parents. He skipped school, growing more and more worried as every person he spoke to told him the same thing; They hadn't heard from his parents recently and had no idea where they were now. When Roxas and Sora got off the bus, Cloud sent them to Mrs. Lane's and then drove to every place he could think of that his parents might have gone.

Cloud arrived home at nine that night. He went to Mrs. Lane's house to get his brothers and the woman invited him inside worriedly.

"The boys are sleeping upstairs with Conner," Mrs. Lane informed him. Mr. Lane was in the kitchen, reading the newspaper. He set it aside when Cloud walked in.

"Not that we don't mind helping out with watching the twins," Mr. Lane began, "but where is your mother?"

"I don't know," Cloud admitted. He sat in the chair Mrs. Lane offered gratefully. "I've looked everywhere, talked to everyone I can think of; I have no idea where they are."

"They didn't leave a note? Did they have vacation plans that you forgot about, maybe?"

Cloud shook his head, looking lost. "No. I have no idea where they are."

Mr. Lane stood while Mrs. Lane placed a hand on his back and rubbed gently. Mr. Lane held out the phone Cloud. "I think you need to call the police, Cloud."

Cloud swallowed, staring at the phone with apprehension. He took it slowly, looking up at his neighbor. "What am I supposed say?"

"The truth. Your parents haven't been home and you need help finding them."

Shakily, Cloud nodded. He dialed the police and smiled appreciatively as Mrs. Lane squeezed his hand in support. An operator answered the phone in a crisp voice.

"Police department. How I can help you?"

"Um... I think I need to report two missing persons..."

* * *

Six months later, Cloud was frantically packing boxes. He had promised himself that he would only take what they absolutely needed but even the essentials were turning out to be more than he thought. He carried two boxes at a time downstairs and left them by the garage door. Sora and Roxas would be dropped off by the bus anytime and Cloud needed to leave as soon as they arrived. The stupid woman from social services would be there at two and she had made it perfectly clear that Sora and Roxas needed to have a bag packed and be ready to go.

Cloud ran back upstairs and looked around his brothers' room. He grabbed Roxas' favorite toy truck and Sora's stuffed panda. The little boy hadn't slept once without the beat up panda since their parents disappearance six months ago. He then quickly entered his room and started shoving clothes into the boxes he already had waiting in there.

Cloud stopped abruptly when he heard the door open and close downstairs. He looked at the clock and panicked. Sora and Roxas weren't supposed to be home from school for another ten minutes! Did the bus come early today? Cloud had wanted to be finished packing before they arrived so that he could throw them in the car and leave. There was a slam from downstairs and Cloud heard crying. He hurried down the stairs and stopped dead in his tracks, dropping Sora's panda and Roxas' truck.

His mother was standing in the hallway, covered in dirt. Her clothes were large and she had lost weight. Her normally spiky blonde hair was flattened down with grease with dirt. Her face had a cut in it and Cloud was sure the red staining her clothes was dried blood. She was currently fussing over a little boy who looked about the same age as Roxas and Sora. He was crying, the tears leaving streaks on his dirty face.

"_Mom_?" Cloud's voice was barely above a whisper. His mother froze and whipped around, looking surprised.

"Cloud?" she exclaimed. "What are you doing? You're supposed to be in school!"

"_School_?" Cloud repeated. _"School?_ I haven't been to school in six months! Not since my parents disappeared without a trace!"

The little boy began to cry again and his mother turned to soothe him. "Oh shush, Harry dear, everything's going to be fine."

"Mom!" Cloud yelled. He stepped forward in disbelief. "Is that really you?"

His mother stared at him, tears gathering in her eyes. "Oh baby..." she ran forward and enveloped Cloud in a tight hug. Cloud returned it fiercely. All this time, he had been terrified his mother had been dead. The police had given up the search, not having any clues or leads to follow.

Reluctantly, Cloud pulled away. "Where's dad? Is he okay?"

"Yes, your father's fine. He's waiting for me now..."

"Mom this great!" Cloud's voice was colored with excitement. "You have no idea what we've been going through since you left. Social services was going to take Sora and Roxas away—"

_"What?_ Cloud no! You mustn't let them take away the twins. They have to stay with you, with _family_!"

Cloud was taken back by the woman's shouting. "Well yeah, but it's not a problem now, right? You're back. They can't take them away if you're here."

"Oh baby..." Cloud's mother burst into tears. Cloud stared at her in confusion.

"Mom?"

"Baby I can't come back, not now. Believe me, I would love to but it's just too dangerous!"

"What do you mean, dangerous?"

"Cloud, listen to me." His mother grabbed his face and looked him in the eye. "I love you and the twins more than anything in this world. Your father does too. But right now, we have to stay away. I'm putting you in danger just by being here."

"What danger?" Cloud demanded. "Mom, what's going on?"

"I'm sorry." Tears spilled from her eyes and she wiped them away quickly. "Here!" she turned to the little boy, who Cloud had forgotten about, and grabbed a piece of paper he was clutching. "It's all in here. I have to go."

"Go? Go where?"

"Cloud baby, listen to me. I need you to take this little boy in. He's the same age as the twins but you need to take care of him, okay? Promise me!"

"Mom—"

"Cloud! I don't have time! Promise me you'll take care of this boy!"

His mother looked slightly crazed as she stared at him. "Okay," Cloud agreed, unsure of what else to say or how to turn her down. "Okay, I will."

"Good, good!" she turned quickly to the little boy and knelt in front of him. "Harry, darling, this is Cloud. This is the boy I told you about. You're going to be staying with him now, okay?"

"No!" Harry shouted. "I want my mommy and daddy!"

Cloud's mother frowned and tried to flatten the child's unruly hair. "Oh Harry, I told you, you need to forget about them. You're going to live with Cloud from now on. And remember? I told you about Roxas and Sora? They're going to be you're new brothers! You've always wanted brothers, haven't you?"

The little boy broke down crying again and the woman hugged him tightly. She pulled away and stood up, turning back to Cloud. "I have to go now."

"No, mom—"

"Cloud I love you!" she interrupted, kissing his cheek. "Please don't ever forget how much I love you and the boys. I'm so sorry."

"Mom you can't go!" Cloud grabbed her arm, startled with how thin and frail it felt in his hand. "Whatever's going on, I can help!"

"You are helping, Cloud," she smiled warmly at him. "I love you so much."

Without warning, she jerked away and ran out the door. Cloud hurried to follow her and watched as she ran into the arms of a man he didn't recognize. She smiled sadly, tears falling from her eyes as she stared at Cloud. Before Cloud could stop the two, they vanished into thin air with a crack. Horrified, the teen stood on the porch of the house he was about to abandon, clutching his mother's note in his hand. No one was on the street to witness the sudden departure.

The sound of crying snapped Cloud out of his shock. He turned to see the little boy, Harry, standing in the hallway, sobbing. Cloud quickly turned back inside, shutting the door behind him. He opened the letter his mother had given him and read it over quickly.

_Dear Cloud_

_ I am so sorry I can't see you or the twins. I am so sorry that your father and I left you like this. Please know that we love you all dearly. I don't have time to write a letter explaining things, but I promise, someday we'll tell you the whole story._

_ This little boy is named Harry Potter. He's six, just like Roxas and Sora! I know you must be overwhelmed taking care of them but I believe in you. I'm sorry to just drop this boy off and ask you to care for him too, but he has nowhere else to go. His parents are dead and when we tried to leave him with his only living relatives they treated him horribly. We didn't know where else to send him until I thought of you._

_ In his backpack you'll find legal papers stating that his name is Harry Strife and he's a biological son of your father and I. You can explain his looks by saying he took after your grandfather on your father's side. I realize I'm asking a lot, but please look after him in addition to your brothers. Treat him as one of the family, because that is who he is now , family._

_ I hope to see you soon, son. Please don't ever forget how much your father and I love you._

The note was unsigned and Cloud read it over once more, just in case he had missed something. When he was done, he looked at the boy, Harry, standing in the hallway. His green eyes were staring at him, wet with tears. Cloud didn't know what to say as he stared back. The door opening broke the silence and Roxas and Sora walked in, both looking gloomy. They stopped in surprised.

"Who's this?" Sora asked.

Cloud wasn't sure what to say. He looked at the note in his hand then back at his brothers. Straightening, Cloud shoved the note in his pocket.

"His name's Harry. I want you two to take him to the kitchen and wait there for me."

"What's happening?" Roxas asked.

"Do as I say, now!" Cloud snapped. The three children jumped in surprise and Harry shrank away from him fearfully. Cloud didn't say another word as he ran upstairs to finish his packing. He made quick work of his room, tapping the boxes shut and hurling them downstairs. He paused as he passed his parent's room and looked inside. It was exactly as they had left it six months ago: immaculate. Cloud shut the door and ran downstairs.

The boys were sitting at the table. Harry was as far away from the twins as he could get, still crying. Roxas and Sora were staring at him in confusion. They looked up as Cloud entered, watching as he carried boxes out into the garage and packed the car.

"What's all that stuff, Cloud?" Sora asked.

"It's our stuff," Cloud said quickly. "We're moving."

"What?" the little boys exclaimed in shock.

Cloud put the last box in the car and waved his brothers to him. "In the car, now."

"But I don't want to move!" Sora cried and Roxas nodded quickly in agreement.

"We don't have a choice." Cloud stopped his frantic movements and took a deep breath. He knelt down in front of his brothers. "Listen runts, if we stay here, a woman from social services is going to take you away from me."

"NO!" the twins yelled together.

"I don't want that either," Cloud assured. "That's why we're leaving. We'll go somewhere else and start over. Somewhere where we'll be safe."

The little boys nodded, wiping away their tears.

"Good, now get in the car."

They scrambled to obey and Cloud turned to Harry. The little boy had stood and was clutching his backpack like a lifeline. Cloud approached him but stopped when Harry stepped away.

"Okay look, I don't know what's going on, but my mother wants me to take care of you. I told her I would, so you've got to come with me now."

"No!" Harry screamed. "You'll just throw me under the stairs and leave me there!"

Confused, Cloud forced himself not to lose his temper. "Look, kid, I don't know if the place I find will even have stairs."

"Then you'll put me in a closet!" Harry shook his head. "I just know it!"

"I'm not going to put you in a closet," Cloud said slowly, trying to hide his frustration. "Whatever you're afraid of, I promise I won't do it to you." He looked at the clock; it was almost two. The woman from social services would be there any minute. Cloud wanted to leave before she arrived.

"You won't send me to bed without supper?"

Cloud stared at the kid. "No, you'll always get fed before bed, promise."

"And breakfast before I go to school?"

"Yes."

"And you won't smack me when I act like a freak?"

"What?" Cloud shook his head. "No, I wont hit you for any reason, ever. Anything else?"

Slowly, Harry shook his head. He took a step toward Cloud. "You won't let those other boys beat me up?"

"Roxas and Sora wouldn't beat you up with or without me around. They don't have a mean bone in their body." Cloud stepped forward and swooped Harry up. "We're out of time, we've gotta go."

Cloud hurried into the garage, pressing the button to make the door go up. He opened the door and cursed to himself as he realized he didn't have a third car seat for Harry. Roxas and Sora were strapped in, watching him curiously. Cloud set Harry down on the floor of the back seat in between the twins.

"Keep your head down, okay Harry?"

Harry nodded and made himself comfortable as he could. Cloud shut the door, running around to the front. He climbed in and started the car. With a squeal of tires, Cloud pulled out of the garage onto the street, not caring when he knocked over a trash can. He sped away from their house just as black car drove around the corner. Cloud didn't allow himself to relax until they were on the highway, heading north to who knew where.

**A/N: So that's the first part. If you happen to know any good, well written KH/HP crossovers, please share them with me! I don't care about pairings, just good writing. Hope you enjoy, please review!**


	2. Life on the Run

**A/N: All of their "code names" are Disney characters.**

**Chapter Two: Life one the Run**

"Cloud I need new shoes!" Sora whined as he walked. The teen looked down at his brother and noticed the soul of his shoe was falling off. It made a slapping sound as Sora walked.

"We'll get you new ones when we're done here."

"Hey! If Sora gets new shoes, I wants some too!" Roxas exclaimed

"You don't need them right now. We'll get you a new pair when you grow out of those."

Roxas pouted, glaring at Cloud mutinously. Sora stuck his tongue out at his twin smugly. Cloud sighed and glanced behind him, making sure Harry was still there. The smallest of the three boys was trudging close to their heels silently, clutching his backpack.

The group reached their destination. A large sign announcing the campground stood before them. The road was clear of traffic and Cloud hurried the boys into the ditch, kneeling in front of them.

"Alright runts, we're here to shower and get some food. If we get separated, where do we meet?"

"Right here at the sign," Sora recited.

"And if we get caught we don't tell anyone our real names," Roxas added.

"We just cry and pretend we're lost and then run away when no one's looking," Harry's small voice joined in.

Cloud nodded in approval. "And what are your names?"

"I'm Mickey!" Sora squeaked happily.

"I'm Ben!" Roxas announced.

"I'm Cody," Harry said, much less enthusiastically than the other two.

"Good, and I'm Danny, okay?"

"We know Cloud!" Sora insisted. "Can we go now? I'm hungry!"

"You're always hungry, Sora!" Roxas teased, poking his stomach. "You're going to be so fat when you grow up!"

"Not if we never leave and get me some food!" Sora yelled.

Cloud rolled his eyes and stood, making sure there weren't any cars coming. The coast was clear, so he shooed his brothers deeper into the woods. The group of four didn't have to go far before they came to high fence. The fence surrounded the entire campground, preventing people from sneaking in without paying. One at time, Cloud lifted the small boys to the top and they climbed over, waiting on the other side. He then followed himself, landing gracefully with a loud thump.

"Let's go," Cloud said. Roxas and Sora latched onto his hands tightly. Harry followed behind the three, staying as close as he could.

The campground was full with people. Kids were running or riding their bikes everywhere. This particular site was more modern than other places. It had a small shop near the center that sold cheap candy and the essential food needed for camping. Unlike other places they had been to, this campground strongly discouraged showering in the lake where people swam. The place had built public showers that were free for use to any camper. Cloud pointed at them.

"Shower first, then we'll find some food."

Sora groaned loudly in protest but Cloud just tugged him along and ignored him. They didn't have to wait long before one of the showers opened up. Cloud ordered the boys to take their shoes off and grabbed three pairs of dollar flip flops from Harry's bag. The boys slipped them on and removed their shirts, shoving them into the backpack.

"Rules," Cloud ordered.

"Don't take off the flip flops, scrub behind our ears, and don't use a lot of shampoo," Roxas listed.

"If we finish before you, we are to stay right here and not talk to anyone or go anywhere," Sora added, bouncing on his heels. "Can we go in now?"

"Watch out for each other," Cloud ordered. He handed Roxas a blue washcloth, Sora the shampoo, and Harry a bar of soap. "No fooling around and make sure you hang your shorts on the door so they stay dry."

The boys ran off into the open shower room, slamming the heavy door shut behind them. Cloud didn't have to wait long before another room opened and stepped inside. The water was cold, but Cloud was expecting it. It had been at least a two weeks since they had been able to shower and it felt refreshing to get clean. He stood under the cold water, enjoying the feeling of the dirt and grease being rinsed from his body.

They had been on the road for for nearly seven months now. Cloud was too afraid to stop anywhere permanently. Things had been very hard at first. The twins had rebelled against his choice to leave home and didn't understand who Harry was and why he was traveling with them. Every night for the first month, Cloud had sat the three boys down and made them repeat over and over that Harry was their brother and had always been their brother and always would be from now on. Eventually, the young boys stopped asking questions and just accepted their new fate.

Cloud squeezed some shampoo into his hand, noticing it was a lot less than he used to use. He needed to save as much as he could. They were tight on money and couldn't afford many luxuries. In the beginning, small things like showering or eating had been easier. He would rent out cheap hotel rooms that had a microwave in it and feed all of them dollar microwavable meals. However, motels required you to register and provide ID and ever since Cloud had been labeled a kidnapper, he could no longer do so.

Cloud scrubbed furiously at his skin, still angry at the thought that he was technically a criminal now. One of the motels they were staying at had called the police to arrest him and the boys had barely escaped. It was then Cloud found out that he was wanted for the kidnapping of his younger brothers. After that, Cloud was careful to never go anywhere that required identification and the family had started living out of the car.

Cloud finished his shower and shut the water off, drying off with a fluffy white towel he had stolen from a hotel long ago. He slipped on his last clean pair of shorts and clean shirt and left the shower room. His brothers weren't finished yet, so Cloud sat down on bench and waited for them. It was moments like this that Cloud reflected on what his life had become.

One day he had been going to school, just another teenager. His biggest concern was keeping his grades up so he wouldn't get kicked off the soccer team. He was junior and had his eye on becoming the team captain during his senior year. That life felt like a dream now. Now he spent his days driving around, planning where they were going to sleep that night and how they would eat. He had thought many times of just giving up and turning himself in to the police but the fear of jail and what would happen to his brothers kept him trudging on.

The little boys had been surprisingly good and adapted well to homeless life. Sora and Roxas treated the whole thing as a game and Harry, Cloud suspected, was just glad to be with someone who didn't mistreat him. Cloud had asked Harry about where he came from and how he knew Cloud's mother but the little boy had broken into tears and never told him anything. Eventually, Cloud stopped asking.

The shower opened and the three six year-old's came out, looking refreshed and happy. They were laughing and Cloud smiled at them. Despite the harsh life they were all living now, the kids still found a way to laugh. Sora and Roxas had been slow to accept Harry but once they realized he was nice and wasn't going anywhere, they had opened up and let him into their circle. Sora ran up to Cloud and held out their dirty clothes with a smile. Showering always made the group of four feel better.

Cloud lead them behind the showering area, where no one else was around. "Okay, time to get some food." He paused as Sora cheered loudly. "You know what to do?"

The boys nodded quickly.

"Good. I'm going to the little store we saw on the way in. I'll wait there, okay?"

"Okay!"

The little boys dashed off happily. Cloud watched as they ran up to a group of kids and asked if they could play. The kids said yes easily and Cloud made his way to the small store to wait. They had gone to enough campgrounds to have a system in place. The boys would make friends with kids and when the kids went back to their campsite for anything, the twins and Harry would steal whatever food they saw. Cloud told them to aim for things that didn't need to be kept cold or required cooking so they often ended up with the ingredients to make smores, cookies, crackers, or other junk. After they were done, they came back to Cloud and he would go to the store and buy whatever else they needed with their precious little money.

Cloud arrived at the small store and leaned against the building by the window, where the cashier was sure to see him. The second part of the plan was loiter around the building, making the workers eye him suspiciously. After his brothers returned with their spoils, Cloud would go into the shop and look around. By the time he entered, the workers would watch him like a hawk, thinking he was going to steal. While the workers were busy watching him, Sora, Roxas, and Harry would take whatever they needed and leave, with no one being the wiser.

An hour or so past before the twins and Harry came running up the road. Harry was stumbling slightly behind the other two, weighed down by his backpack, now full of stolen goods. Cloud gestured them behind the building where no one was and knelt down.

"What did you get?"

"Look Cloud! New shoes!" Sora exclaimed. He pulled a pair of tennis shoes from the backpack and held them out proudly. "Now we can save our money for food and stuff!"

Cloud took the shoes and looked them over. They were the right size and had a child's name written on them. He spat on them and scrubbed at the marker, smearing it so the name was illegible. "Okay, don't put them on until we're out of here. I don't want anyone noticing."

"Okay!"

Cloud pulled out the rest of the stuff. There were graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate, just as he expected. They had also grabbed some strawberries that had been squished and some apples and peanut butter.

"Good grab with the peanut butter," Cloud muttered. "That's expensive."

"I did that!" Harry declared proudly.

Cloud pulled out a bag of bologna and frowned. "I've told you before, no cold stuff."

Roxas looked sad. "I wanted a bologna sandwich. I haven't had one since mommy left."

Cloud frowned and put the lunch meat back, rubbing Roxas' head. "Okay. I'll go get some bread and milk from inside. Who's staying outside with the backpack?"

"I will," Harry offered.

"Okay, stay by the door where I can see you. Sora, I want you to get some cheese and Roxas, get some mustard."

"Can we have candy?" Sora asked. Harry and Roxas looked up at him hopefully.

"One piece!" Cloud ordered. "Harry, tell Sora what you want and he'll get it for you."

The boys quickly agreed on treat and Cloud sent Roxas and Sora inside the store first. He waited with Harry for a minute before going inside himself. Just as he predicted, as soon as he walked in the store, the two employees working stared at him. They followed Cloud with their eyes, making sure he was in one of their sights at all times.

Cloud casually walked over to the bread and grabbed the cheapest loaf off the shelf. He spotted Roxas shoving a tube of mustard into his pants. Roxas ran over to Sora, who was searching the candy, hiding slightly behind some older kids. Cloud grabbed a half gallon of milk and smiled at the worker watching him. He walked up to the front and set his purchases on the counter just as his little brothers dashed outside, unnoticed.

"Hello," he greeted the cashier kindly and the girl nodded, ringing him up.

"Three fifty," she told him.

Cloud carefully pulled the money from his pocket and handed it over before grabbing his bag. Before she could hand him the change, a shout from outside drew everyone's attention. Screams echoed around them and Cloud ran outside. In the middle of the road, a skinny, filthy man had grabbed Harry's arm. His face was sunken in and his blue eyes were crazed. Black hair hung in his unclean clumps around his face. Roxas and Sora were punching and kicking him, shouting to let go.

Cloud ran forward and without a thought, punched the man square in the jaw. He fell to the ground, looking shocked. Cloud grabbed Harry into his arms and Roxas and Sora huddled behind him.

"Get the fuck away from my brother!" Cloud shouted. Other adults nearby had come running at the commotion and Cloud pointed at the man, raising his voice to a shout. "This man just tried to kidnap my brother!"

"No, no please!" the man held out a weak hand. "Please no, I just... Harry..."

Harry hid his face in Cloud's shoulder and he backed away.

"The park rangers are on their way now!" the woman who had rang Cloud up in the store yelled.

The man looked at her horrified. He swung back to Cloud, who was clutching his family protectively. With a hard swallow, the man stood on shaky legs.

"Don't let him get away!" someone in the crowd shouted. A couple of men jumped to grab the bum but before they could he turned on his heel and vanished. The crowd gasped in shock.

"He was a wizard!"

"A wizard just tried to kidnap a little boy!"

"Filthy wizards!"

Cloud didn't stick around to see what would happen next. He grabbed Sora's hand and ran for it. Roxas latched onto Sora, running as quickly as he could to keep up. They ignored the concerned shouts behind them and plunged into the wooded area. Cloud didn't let the boys slow down until they had reached the fence. He quickly shoved his brothers up and over before jumping over himself. Once they were out of sight of the fence, Cloud finally let them stop. The twins collapsed on the ground, breathing hard.

"Are you alright?" Cloud demanded, looking Harry over for any injuries.

Harry sniffed and nodded and Cloud hugged him tightly. "What happened?"

Harry shook his head. "I don't know. I was standing outside waiting for you and he just... he just came up to me. He grabbed my arm and started pulling me."

Harry broke down into tears and Cloud rubbed his back soothingly.

"We saw him trying to take Harry and started hitting him," Sora explained. "We told him to let go of our brother."

"Good! Very good boys. I'm very proud of you. You shouted for help and protected your family. You did a great job!"

Roxas and Sora beamed with pride. They wrapped their arms around a still crying Harry, comforting him.

"He... he..." Harry's small voice trailed off as he hiccuped.

"What is, Harry?"

Harry looked up at Cloud with scared eyes and whispered, "He called me Harry Potter."

Cloud stared at the boy in shock. No one knew Harry's real name except Cloud; not even the twins. "Well, we've got some food, so let's get back to the car and get out of here." He forced a smile for the small kids. "Don't worry, you're not Harry Potter. You're Harry Strife and part of this family. Everything's going to be just fine."

Cloud picked up the trembling boy and carried him the rest of the way to the car.

* * *

Cloud looked over his shoulder at his car. He could see his brothers' heads bouncing around in the backseat. His once yellow car was now painted a dark blue. It had cost Cloud a lot of the money he had taken from his parent's bank account but it needed to be done. He had to change license plates and the color to better hide from the police.

Cloud turned back to the busy street, telling himself that the boys were fine; he was only going to be gone for a few minutes. He quickly ran across the busy road and stopped in front of a large shop. The sign above read _Weasley's Wizard Wheezes _in curvy handwriting. A very large figure of a redhaired man with a mouse sitting on his head smiled down from the roof. Cloud found the figure to be slightly creepy and instead focused on the door. It was covered with blue curtains, preventing him from seeing inside.

Cloud pushed the door open and stepped inside. He had to let his eyes adjust to the dim light inside the store. The store was larger inside than the outside had suggested. It was filled with shelves of strange products, such as love potions or treats that made you turn into an animal briefly. What looked like human ears hung on the wall with strings attached to them. Cloud looked away from the display, he had never little interactions with wizards, having never met one, but judging from the store, they were a strange group of people.

Cloud was startled when a man placed a hand on his shoulder and loudly asked if he could help him find something. The boy looked about the same age as he was with red hair and freckles. He wore a brown suit that fit him nicely but looked worn around the hem.

Cloud stared at him a moment before shaking his head. "I need something to dye hair."

The boy grinned. "A hair dying prank, is it? Well we've got just the thing. Follow me!"

Cloud followed him past shelves full of potions. Near the front of the store the man stopped and gestured to the a large shelf. "One of our more popular pranks," he explained. "What color are you looking for? Blue, green, pink? Or perhaps a rainbow of colors? My personal favorite."

"Um, no, just... blonde."

The salesmen looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "Kind of standard but we've got that. Let it never be said that _Weasley's Wizard Wheezes_ doesn't have anything and everything you could want." He grabbed a potion from the shelf and held it out to Cloud. "This will do it. Guaranteed to dye any head of hair blonde. Just put one drop on the top of the head, two drops if the person has longer hair, and wallah! Instant blonde."

"How long does it last?"

"One drop will last ya twelve hours, give or take. It washes out faster if you get it wet."

"Thank you," Cloud looked around. "Do you have anything to change eye color?"

"Behind the counter."

Cloud turned the counter and was surprised when the salesperson vanished. Shrugging, he made his way to the front. He waited a moment but no one was around. A bell was sitting on the wood with a sign that said "ring for service." Cloud tapped it and jumped back with a yelp of surprise. The bell turned into a rat and ran off the edge, escaping into the cracks in the floor.

"You rang?"

Cloud jumped again as another redhead appeared, smilingly widely. He looked identical to the first one that had helped him but Cloud tell something was different. He had learned to tell the slight differences in twins when his brothers were born.

"I need something to change eye color."

"Didn't you just tell me that?" the boy asked, his eyes sparkling.

"No, I asked your brother but he vanished."

The boy stopped in surprise. "You can tell the difference?"

"My brothers are twi... triplets. I've learned to look for the small things."

The boy grinned and grabbed a tray of fake eyeballs, setting them on the shelf. "What color, my good sir?"

Cloud studied them closely and pointed at an eye with the same shade of blue as he and his brothers. The teen stared at him with the same suspicious face as his brother. "You're a fake blonde and blue eyes or something?"

"Yes," Cloud snapped. "I don't like people to know."

"Hey, here at_ Weasley's Wizard Wheezes _we respect the customer's privacy. We're having a special sale, save ten percent on a months supply."

"I'll take it." Cloud set the dye down and handed over the money. He couldn't help but cringe at the price. Normal hair dye would have been cheaper, but he didn't have the materials or space to dye Harry's hair. This would have to do.

"The contacts will last twelve hours before dissolving, no need to take them out, they'll vanish on their own. They don't correct eyesight and don't use them with contacts, it'll make the eye very irritated."

"Thank you."

"Of course! Make sure you come again for all you're pranking needs! We're constantly expanding and adding new products to our shelves."

Cloud nodded and left the store, blinking from the sudden light. He had been in few wizard stores before, and that one was the strangest by far. Cloud hurried across the street to the car. The boys were still in the back seat, playing a crossword puzzle Cloud had gotten them. He knocked on the doors and they happily unlocked the vehicle.

"Did you get what you needed, big brother?" Sora asked.

Cloud climbed into the driver's seat and turned. "Yeah, Harry get up here."

Harry climbed into the front and looked at Cloud curiously. The teen pulled out the bottle of hair dye and uncorked it. He used the dropper provided and filled it. Carefully, Cloud let a tiny drop fall onto Harry's head. They watched, fascinated, as Harry's hair slowly began to lighten. The black gave way to a dirty blonde color. It was halfway between Sora's brunette and Roxas' dark blonde.

"Cool!" Sora and Roxas exclaimed. Harry looked at them curiously.

"Here," Cloud held out two contact lenses. Harry slipped his glasses off and didn't move as Cloud carefully slid the lenses into each eye. When he was done, Harry blinked rapidly and put his glasses back on. Roxas and Sora were grinning widely, bouncing in excitement. Cloud pulled down the mirror and let Harry look at himself.

Harry touched his face in wonder. His hair was dirty blonde now and his eyes matched the other boy's perfectly. Even his eyebrows had lightened to match his new hair color. He turned to Cloud, his eyes gathering with tears.

"I look like you."

Cloud nodded. "That was the goal. If anyone ask, from this moment forward, you guys are triplets, okay?"

Sora and Roxas cheered happily and Harry grinned so wide it hurt. He launched himself into Cloud's arm, crying happily. Cloud smiled and hugged him back. No one would recognize Harry as Harry Potter and try to take him away ever again.

* * *

"Okay, Sora name the capital city of... New York."

"That's easy! Albany."

"Very good," Cloud congratulated. "Roxas... what is ten plus twenty-one?"

Roxas thought for a second before answering, "Thirty-one!"

"Correct! Okay Harry, what do plants need to grow?"

"Water and sun!"

"Right. Bonus question for all of you! What is it called when plants turn sun into food?"

"Photographs!" Sora yelled.

Harry and Roxas laughed. "No stupid, it's photo-sin-thee-sis."

"You were very close, though, Sora," Cloud soothed the pouting boy.

They family was driving down a highway, not paying much attention to where they were or where they were going. They had been on the road for almost an entire year now. The boys had turned seven while they traveled and Cloud was now seventeen. They had all grown accustom to life on the road, constantly driving nowhere, stealing what the needed to get buy, Cloud finding odd jobs that only lasted a day or two and paid cash with no questions asked.

During their long drives, Cloud had taken to teaching his brothers anything and everything he could remember from his school days. He had stolen writing and math booklets from libraries and taught them how to read and write. He wasn't sure if they were doing well for their age but was pleased that they at least knew something.

"Hey Cloud?" Sora asked, flipping through his science book. "Will you tell us about the war?"

Cloud glanced at the curious faces in the back. "Well, it was a terrible war that happened almost a hundred years ago. Do you guys know what Wielders and Guardians are?"

The boys shook their heads.

"Okay, well..." Cloud paused, gathering his thoughts. "Lets start at the beginning. You guys know what a wizard is; it's a person who can perform magic. There are also people called fighters. Fighters are people who can summon weapons from thin air. They can use magic too, but its very limited."

"Wasn't daddy a fighter?"

"Yeah, he was," Cloud confirmed. "He never fought though, there wasn't any reason for him to."

"Was mommy?" Sora asked.

"No, mom was a norm. That means she didn't have any magic or the ability to summon weapons. She was just normal."

"What are you?" Harry asked.

"Me? I'm a norm, like mom. I've never been able to summon a weapon."

"What are we?"

"A pain in the butt. Now do you want to hear the story or keep interrupting me?"

The boys fell quiet and Cloud continued.

"Now really powerful fighters can grow up to become Wielders. That means they're masters of summoning weapons. And really powerful wizards can become Guardians, which means they've mastered magic.

"Well a hundred years ago, a few fighters became jealous of the strength the wizards had. The fighters were very full of themselves and often bragged about how they were better than everyone else. The wizards decided they wanted more power for themselves and so they started using evil magic. This magic summoned terrible creatures called Heartless.

"At first, the wizards thought they could control the Heartless but soon, the creatures they summoned became too powerful. They turned on the wizards and killed them and then overran the world. The fighters and norms joined forces to fight the evil but it was a long, hard war.

"After years of fighting, it looked like the Heartless were going to win but, when all hope was lost, two people came forward to fight. They were called Lord of the Wielders and Lord of the Guardians. The two joined their powers together and managed to seal the place where the Heartless were coming from. After the sealing the hole, the two Lords lead the wizards and fighters in a battle to wipe out any Heartless still in our world. They eventually succeeded and the war ended, bringing about peace."

"What happened to the Lords?" Roxas asked.

"No one knows. Once the final Heartless was killed, the two Lords ordered that all people, wizard, fighters, and norms, live together in peace. They disappeared after that, and were never seen again."

"They ordered us to live together?" Sora asked, thinking. "But we don't. The wizards live in mountains and castles."

"Yeah, and fighters live in their own cities!"

"The point is that we all know about each other," Cloud explained. "A hundred years ago, no one knew about each other. Norms had no idea that magic existed in the world. They found out when the war started."

"How could they not know?" Roxas asked. "Magic is everywhere!"

"It is now, but back then wizards hid themselves away. So did fighters. Nowadays, we may all live separate, but we know about each other."

"I want to be a fighter when I grow up!" Sora declared, making slashing gestures with his hand.

"No way! I want to be a wizard!" Roxas pretended to make his pencil float. "They can do such awesome stuff."

"I don't want to be anything," Harry muttered quietly. "I just want to be a norm."

The twins looked at him in shock. "That's so boring!" Sora cried.

"Yeah, that's the worst of them all."

Cloud scowled playfully at the boys. "Are you saying I'm boring? I am a norm, you know."

Roxas and Sora blushed and hurriedly assured Cloud they didn't think he was boring at all. Cloud shook his head and turned the car to get off at an exit.

"Harry, put your disguise on, we're going to stop and eat."

Harry did as he was told happily. He wished they had enough potion and contacts so that he could wear them all the time. They two things were hard to come by though, so Harry only changed his hair and eyes when the group planned on going out in public. In private, he always looked like himself. He hated it. When he looked like his brothers he felt like he belonged with them; he felt at home.

Cloud pulled up to a small restaurant. It was a Mexican place and decorated with bright colors. He turned around to the kids, looking serious. "Okay—"

"Behave yourselves," Roxas interrupted, imitating Cloud's voice. "Don't draw any attention to us and behave ourselves."

Sora giggled and also imitated his brother. "We don't want anyone staring at us or thinking we're bad."

"We need to keep our heads down, eat, and leave. Got it, runts?" Harry finished the speech and the boys burst out laughing.

Cloud rolled his eyes at his brothers and climbed out of the car. The boys did the same, running ahead into the restaurant. They stood patiently, waiting for Cloud. The waitress waiting to seat them practically squealed in delight at the cute children and handsome adult. She seated them and brought over coloring books and crayons for the boys. Cloud ordered waters for them all and looked over the menus while the boys drew.

The dinner went smoothly and everyone enjoyed their meals. When they were done, Roxas and Harry whined that they needed to use the bathroom. Cloud took them to the back of the restaurant and ordered Sora not to move from the table. After everyone finished their business, Cloud made them wash their hands and then went back to the table.

Cloud frowned as he arrived, looking around. Sora wasn't sitting there anymore. His coat was still on his chair and Cloud knelt on the ground to look under the table. The little seven year old wasn't there.

"Sora?" Cloud called. Some of the patrons looked up but Cloud ignored them. He hurried back to the bathroom, thinking that Sora might have followed them. "Sora!" He wasn't there either and Cloud began to panic. A waitress came up to him but Cloud pushed past her. "Sora! Sora get out here now!"

Frantic, Cloud grabbed Sora's coat and ran outside. He looked in the car but it was empty. "Sora!" Cloud yelled. Behind him, Roxas and Harry were clutching hands, scared. "It's alright, I'll find him," he assured the two absently. He ran around the side of the building, calling for his brother. He wasn't there and Cloud ran back to the front.

"SORA!" Cloud shouted.

"Cloud!"

Cloud whipped around at the tiny voice. Sora was standing by the door of the convenience store next to the restaurant. He was standing next to tall brunette man with dark eyes and scar cut across his face. The man had a hand on Sora's shoulder and was scowling.

"Sora!" Cloud hurried forward, relief making his legs feel week. Sora ran to him and Cloud grabbed his arms, kneeling down. "What were you thinking? I told you stay at the table!"

"I'm sorry!"

Cloud's grip on his brother tightened. "What do I always tell you! Keep your head down and don't leave my side! Do you know what could have happened to you!"

"Cloud that hurts!" Sora cried. The teen let go of his brother as if he had been burned. Sora was crying and rubbed the spots on his arms that Cloud had clutched tightly.

"I'm sorry, Sora," Cloud muttered. He pulled him close and patted his head. "You just scared me."

"He was taking candy from my store," the brunette spoke up, watching the scene.

"I wanted to get us dessert," Sora muttered. The other two boys joined them, taking their brother's hand.

"Dessert?" Cloud laughed, slightly crazed. His brother had scared the hell out of him for a couple pieces of candy?

"You might want to pay the woman," the brunette pointed at the waitress standing in the door, looking furious.

"Right," Cloud suddenly felt lightheaded and shook his head. He quickly fished out some money and held it out the waitress. She angrily snatched the cash and swept back inside. Cloud looked at his hand and sighed sadly. He got the feeling she wasn't coming back with any change.

A throat cleared behind him and Cloud and turned, seeing the brunette man standing there, looking annoyed. Cloud shook his head again to try and clear. He hurried over to him. "What do I owe you for the candy?"

"Three fifty."

Cloud looked at his small pile of money. He held out a ten. "I don't have change..."

The brunette stared at him a minute before taking the money. "I'll get you change."

The family followed him into the store and Cloud rubbed his chest. His heart was still beating like crazy from his scare. The triplets were standing next to him quietly.

"Here's your change."

Cloud reached for the money but stopped as his sight began to blur. For a moment it looked like there were two hands holding money for him and Cloud couldn't manage to grab it.

"Hey, you okay?"

Cloud didn't answer as he fell to his knees. He heard his brothers shout in fear but didn't have the strength to comfort them as he passed out.

**A/N: So I'm trying to construct a new world that blends both fandoms in a new way. Fighters are keyblade masters, while wizards are wizards, and norms are like muggles. I decided to call them Fighters instead of keyblade masters because in KH, not everyone is a keyblade master. A lot of them just have cool weapons.**

**Please let me know if you like or not or if its confusing and hard to follow. Obviously in future chapters I'm going to delve more deeply into it, this was just an introduction.**

**If I didn't mention this before, I don't think there is going to be any pairings. So let me know what you think. :)**


	3. Home

**Chapter Three: Home**

When Cloud woke up, the first thing he noticed was how warm he was. The weather had gotten cold early this year and it had been awhile since he was this comfortable. He usually gave his thin blanket to the boys, not wanting them to get sick during the night. Cloud sat up in the strange bed and looked around.

He was in a small room with two beds, one against each wall, with a small nightstand between them. A tiny dresser was near the door and Cloud recognized Harry's backpack sitting on top of it. He stood from the bed, confused when he realized he was barefoot. He never took his shoes off for sleep.

Cloud walked to the door and stuck his head out. The hallway was narrow and had two other doors. One door was opened and revealed a small bathroom. The second door was shut but Cloud assumed it was another bedroom. He walked to the stairs, noticing they were carpeted the same gray color as the hallway. He heard voices downstairs and realized it Sora and Roxas, chatting away like they always did.

The stairs dropped him off in a small living room that was sparsely furnished. The sun had set outside and it had started to snow. Cloud turned the corner into the kitchen and was relieved to see all three of his brothers sitting at the table. They all wore large slippers that were too big for their feet and were drinking hot chocolate. A brunette woman was standing at the stove, cooking. She was wearing a flowing pink robe over her pajamas and hummed happily as she stirred the food.

Harry spotted Cloud and jumped from his seat excitedly. "Big brother!"

Sora and Roxas looked up and then all three boys were tackling Cloud's legs. Cloud reached down and patted their heads.

"We were so worried!" Harry cried.

"You just fell down in the store!"

"It was so scary!"

Cloud gently pushed the boys away. "I'm fine, runts. Sorry I scared you." He looked up at the woman cooking. She was watching them with a warm smile. "Where...?"

"This is my brother's home. He's the store owner and brought you up here when you fainted. My name's Aerith."

"I'm... Danny," he said. He shook her hand quickly. "Thank you for letting us into your home."

"Oh I don't live here," Aerith explained happily. "Like I said, this is my brother's home. He should be back any minute. He had to go move your car."

"What?" Cloud pat the pocket where his keys usually were only to find them missing. Someone must have taken them while he slept.

"Oh don't worry, he won't take anything. You can't leave your car at that restaurant overnight or it'll get towed. They're very strict, I'm afraid." She turned the stove off and smiled. "Please sit. I was just about to feed everyone a some soup as a snack. Soup is always good on cold nights like this."

The boys sat at the table, looking at Aerith expectantly. She giggled and began setting out bowls. Reluctantly, Cloud sat down. "Thank you, but we can't stay long."

Aerith looked at him in surprise. "It's almost midnight," she pointed out. "And the roads are probably terrible by now from the snow. Why don't you have some soup and think about it."

She poured everyone a bowl and the boys thanked her loudly. They ate their meal with the gusto of children not used to eating. Cloud admonished them for slurping from their spoons but it did nothing to slow them down.

The door opened and let in a gush of cold air that had everyone shivering. The man who entered quickly shut the door and shook off the snow from his coat. He stopped in surprise when he saw Cloud sitting at the table and stared at him. Cloud found the look unnerving and turned away.

"Leon!" Aerith hurried and took her brother's clothes, hanging them up by the door. "Come in and get warm. I just finished making everyone soup."

Leon grunted and took a seat at the over crowded table. He looked at Cloud as his sister poured him some food. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm much better," Cloud told him. "Thank you for helping me. I hope my brothers weren't any trouble while I slept."

"Trouble?" Aerith giggled. "Oh believe me, they weren't any trouble at all." She watched the boys finish off their soup and squealed quietly at their cuteness.

"Did you need to call anyone?" Leon asked. "Your parents?"

"Ah no, it's just us at the moment. We're here visiting our aunt."

"Who is she?" Leon asked coldly. "This is a small town, I might know her."

"Jasime Larkin."

"We already told him all this, big brother," Roxas said, pouting at Leon. "He thinks we're lying."

Leon glared at the seven year old. "That kid's name is Sora, not Mickey."

"Nu-uh!"

"Please don't get into a 'nu-uh' argument with a seven year old," Cloud interrupted. "You'll lose every time." Inwardly, he was very proud of his brothers. They had remembered their cover names and cover story perfectly.

Leon leaned back in his seat with a grunt, still staring at Cloud suspiciously. Cloud finished his soup and pushed the bowl away from. "Thank you for your hospitality. We should get going though... we don't want to trouble you anymore."

Leon raised an eyebrow. "Where do you think you're going to go? It's snowed at least a foot out there and the blows don't run at night."

"We'll manage," Cloud assured him, standing. The boys jumped from seats.

"Oh please stay!" Aerith said. "It's already so late. You can call your aunt from here and let her know you're safe. I would feel awful letting these little cuties go outside in the cold."

"We shouldn't..."

"Just stay the night," Leon's voice was cold as he stood. "You can leave in the morning if you're that eager. You guys can use the spare room or the couch down here, if you don't want to share a bed."

Cloud looked at the siblings and wavered. It was very late and he still wasn't feeling a hundred percent. He didn't like the idea of driving around in a snow storm and finding somewhere cold to sleep for the night.

"Okay, but just for tonight," Cloud agreed.

His brother's cheered and Aerith smiled widely. She stood and gestured the little boys to the living room. "Come on, Mickey, Ben, Cody. I'll get extra blankets and pillows and show you where the bathroom is."

Cloud watched as his brothers followed the woman upstairs. He turned back to Leon, who was still watching his suspiciously. He tossed Cloud's car keys on the table. "You should get their pajamas from the car. It's parked right out back. Your coat is on the hook by the door."

"Right..." Cloud whispered. He wasn't sure what to do. None of them had owned pajamas since they left home a year ago. They slept in their clothes and went to public laundry mats when their clothes started to smell.

Cloud grabbed his coat. He would at least grab the potion and contacts for Harry's disguise. Maybe Sora's stuffed panda as well and a change of clothes for the morning. Cloud was quick to grab what he needed from the car. Aerith hadn't been lying when she said it was freezing tonight. Ice was already building up on the car windshield. He hurried back inside, shaking off the snow.

Leon was waiting for him in the kitchen. He had cleared the table and put the dishes in the sink. Cloud flushed under his gaze, unsure of what to do. He didn't want to tell him to stop staring because he didn't want to risk making the older man angry. All this guy had to do was call the police and Cloud was in big trouble.

"Um, was there anything I could do for you?" Cloud asked. "To say thanks for letting us stay the night?"

"No."

Cloud fidgeted for a second before gesturing lamely to the stairs. "I guess I'll go upstairs and check on my brothers."

He hurried away from the intimidating man. Upstairs, Aerith had gotten more blankets and pillows for everyone. Cloud entered and smiled at his sleepy brothers.

"They said they're fine sleeping together," Aerith told him pleasantly.

"Thank you."

"Of course, if you guys need anything, Leon and I will be in the room down the hall. Please don't hesitate to knock."

"Thank you, Aerith," Cloud said again. He closed the door behind her and shut the light off, plunging the room into darkness.

"Are you okay, big brother?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, I'm just tired. I'm really proud of you guys, for remembering the story we made up."

"You ruined it by calling me Sora," Sora pouted. Cloud rolled his eyes and climbed under the covers.

"Go to sleep you three."

Cloud heard them rustle around and argue for a moment before falling quiet. He allowed himself to relax before Sora suddenly sat up.

"My panda!" he exclaimed.

"He's by the door," Cloud mumbled.

Roxas and Harry cried out in annoyance as Sora leapt from the bed. He turned the light on, making everyone groan, and found his panda. He quickly shut the light off and jumped back into bed. There was more rustling and complaining before everyone finally fell silent. Cloud lay with his eyes open until his brothers' breathing evened out. Once he was sure they were asleep, Cloud closed his eyes and let his tired body succumb to slumber.

* * *

Aerith stayed by the bedroom door until she was sure everyone was asleep. She quietly padded down the stairs and found her brother still sitting in the kitchen. She joined him at the table.

"They're all asleep."

"Good. What do you think?"

Aerith frowned thoughtfully. "I'm not sure, Leon. I don't think it's as bad you believe."

"Some guy driving around with three little boys, teaching them to lie and give fake names, and not talk to anyone?" Leon rolled his eyes. "That's not suspicious at all."

"True... but I don't think there's any abuse going on. Those little boys are just too... too _happy. _Even abuse victims that have been brainwashed don't laugh and smile like they do. Whoever this Danny person is, I don't think he's hurting them."

"They're still homeless," Leon pointed out. "When I moved his car it was covered in trash and smelled like dirty clothes."

"Being homeless isn't a crime, it's a tragedy."

Leon shook his head. "It doesn't explain the lying and fake names. Something isn't right with those people."

Aerith nodded. "I agree, but let's not call the police. Let's try and get them to open up first. If they are just homeless, calling the police won't help anyone."

Leon thought it over in his head a moment before nodding. "Okay, but if they leave before we find out the truth, I'll call the police and report it."

His sister nodded in agreement and stood. "Well since those boys took the spare room, do you mind in I sleep with you tonight?"

Leon shook his head and wished his sister a goodnight. She could use his bed; he wasn't planning on going to sleep tonight, just in case their guests tried to run before morning.

* * *

As often happened, Cloud woke to the sound of little voices trying, and failing, to whisper. He rolled over and opened his eyes. Roxas and Sora were crouching with their heads flat on the floor in front of the door. They were peering through the crack and watching for any sign of movement in the hallway. Harry was carefully putting in his fake contacts and had already reapplied the blonde hair dye. Cloud smiled proudly; his little brothers knew how to hide themselves and look after one another. A large part of him was sad that they needed to do these things but teaching them to lie was better than the alternative.

He sat up, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed and yawning. He felt much better than he had yesterday; a good night's sleep in a warm bed had done wonders. Cloud had forgotten how comfortable a bed could be.

"Morning," he muttered to the kids. They called back greetings, still looking under the door. Harry jumped on the bed and sat next to him.

"Is all the black gone?" he asked, Cloud the back of his head. The teen nodded.

"You're fine."

The boys jumped up from the floor and switched on the light. Sora ran to the small window and exclaimed happily at the freshly fallen snow.

"I'm still tired," Roxas complained, scowling at the snow outside. "Sleeping in a bed felt weird."

The other boys nodded in agreement and Cloud's face fell. How horrible a life had he dragged his brothers into that they thought sleeping in a bed was worse than sleeping in a car? All this had started because he didn't want them to go to foster care and had been allowed to continue because he didn't want to go to jail. But had Cloud really made the right choice? Was becoming homeless really any better than foster care?

"Use the bathroom and get your stuff. We'll leave as soon I dig the car out."

The boys dashed out of the room, stomping loudly. Cloud was hit with an overwhelming feeling of homesickness. He had always hated how Sora and Roxas stomped around their old home but hearing them do it now, made Cloud wish he could hear the stomping everyday.

Cloud made his way downstairs and wasn't surprised to find Leon sitting at the table. The scarred man scowled at him and Cloud avoided his gaze. He didn't understand; if the brunette was so put out with them being here, why did he help Cloud in the first place? His sister probably made him.

Aerith was standing at the stove, humming happily as she cooked. She looked up with a bright smile as she heard Cloud come in.

"Good morning, Danny!" she greeted. "I'm just about finished with breakfast. I hope you and those cuties are hungry, I've made enough pancakes to feed a small army."

"You didn't have to," Cloud said.

"Oh it was my pleasure!" Aerith assured. "Please sit. Are the boys upstairs?"

On cue, the triplets came running around the corner. They stopped and stared at the food Aerith was putting on the table.

"Pancakes?!" Sora exclaimed. "I LOVE PANCAKES!"

"You love everything that's food," Roxas muttered, rubbing his ears.

Aerith laughed. "Well have a seat and help yourselves."

The boys looked up at Cloud hopefully. Cloud sighed and gestured to the table. With happy cries, the three children climbed into chairs and sloppily began grabbing pancakes.

"Manners guys," Cloud admonished. Roxas and Sora ignored him but Harry grabbed a fork and used that to get the food instead of his hands.

Sighing, Cloud sat down. He snatched the syrup before his brothers could get their messy hands on it and poured it for them. He made sure to set if back on the table, far out of Sora's reach, before serving himself.

Cloud glanced at Leon, who was reading the newspaper. A large story took up the entire front page declaring that a new school was being built. Leon glanced up and saw Cloud staring at the paper. He handed the front page to him.

"They finally went through with building that integrated school," he said.

"I can't believe they're going to build it here, in our little town," Aerith said.

"It's a good location," Leon shrugged. "There's plenty of room and we're equal distance between large cities."

"And we have the most diverse population in the entire state," Aerith added. "We have equal numbers of wizards, fighters, and norms."

"Really?" Cloud asked in surprise.

Aerith nodded, her brown ponytail swaying. "Oh yes. To the south of us is nothing but country, which the wizards prefer, and to the north are large cities, which the fighters like."

Cloud looked down at the paper, skimming the article about the new school.

"A lot of people are against it," Leon said. "They think having an integrated school won't give kids a specialized enough education."

"I think it's wonderful. Everyone is so separated now but having all types of kids go to school together will teach them tolerance and acceptance. If we want to bring people together, the best place to start is with children."

"My school only had one wizard in the entire student body," Cloud said. "He got blamed for everything. Everyone always claimed they saw him using magic to break the rules."

"You see! This is what this place will fix! These prejudices that wizards are troublemakers and fighters are bullies!"

"And norms are jealous fear mongers," Leon added.

Cloud snorted. "I'm a norm and I never liked the way people treated that wizard kid in our school. On the other hand, I've seen wizards treat norms terribly."

"Yes but that's individual people," Aerith insisted. "You can't call an entire race of people bad because of the actions of a few."

Cloud nodded, conceding her point. He realized really enjoyed talking to Aerith and Leon. It had been so long since he had spoken to other adults. The past year he was always with his brothers, and even though he loved them very much, talking to seven-year-olds wasn't very stimulating. He had caught himself more than once taking longer in checkout line just so he could talk to an adult for an extra minute. Listening to the brother and sister now was refreshing. He didn't have to stop and explain what a word meant or why something was the way it was.

Sora suddenly held out his plate. "May I have some more?"

"Of course dear," Aerith placed another pancake on his plate and laughed when the other two boys asked for more too. Cloud hesitated but didn't say anything. He didn't want the boys to get stomach aches from eating too much but he had no idea when their next meal would be. He supposed it was best to let them eat until they were full, just in case it was awhile before they ate again.

After everyone had finished breakfast, Cloud turned to Leon. "Do you have a shovel I could use?"

"There's one in the shop downstairs." He stood. "I have to go open the store. Tifa is going to be late because of the snow."

"Okay," Aerith smiled. "I think I'll stay here for the day. I don't want to drive home until they've cleared the roads."

"You don't live here?" Roxas asked curiously.

"No, I live a few blocks away. I just stop by every couple of days to make sure my brother is eating."

"If you cooked for me I'd eat everyday!" Sora exclaimed.

Aerith smiled in confusion, not sure what that meant. "Um, thank you." She turned to Cloud. "I'll entertain the boys while you dig out the car, if you'd like."

"Thank you."

Cloud grabbed his coat and reminded the triplets to behave. He followed Leon downstairs to the convenience store. Leon went to unlock the doors and turn the lights on.

"So you own this place?"

"Yeah."

He stood behind the counter and began counting the money in the cash register. Cloud stepped up to the door and looked out. The sky was still gray and threatening to snow once more. The roads were covered in thick white fluff and no one was outside. Cloud guessed they had gotten at least a foot of snow last night and did not look forward to going out in the cold and digging the car out.

Leon glanced at Cloud, watching the teen carefully. He didn't believe for a moment that this person's name was "Danny." He wasn't sure what his story was but there was no way Leon was letting him leave here without finding out.

"So those three are all your brothers?" Leon asked out of the blue.

Cloud was startled out of his thoughts by the question. "Yeah, they're triplets."

"Don't see that very often," Leon commented. "You don't see families with kids with such a large age gap too."

Cloud smiled. "They were a surprise. My parents hadn't been planning on more kids." Cloud remembered his parents sitting him down on his tenth birthday and telling him he was going to be a big brother. He had been so excited by the news. When they found out a few months later that it was twins, Cloud had nearly ruptured his mother's eardrums screaming in joy. He had wanted to be a big brother since the moment his parents told him the news.

"Where are your parents?" Leon asked.

Cloud glanced at him shrewdly. "Where are yours? You barely look old enough to work, let alone own a store."

"I'm twenty-one."

Cloud blinked in surprise. He had thought Leon was the same age as him, maybe a year older.

"How old are you?"

"Twenty-one," Cloud lied. Leon grunted in disbelief and shut the register drawer.

"The shovel's in the back, I'll get it."

Cloud waited in the store while Leon disappeared into the backroom. He glanced around at the shelves full of food but didn't take anything. Leon and his sister had been the first nice people he had encountered in a long time, even if Leon was a little off putting. They had opened their home to him and his brothers and Cloud felt stealing from them would be wrong.

The door opened with a gush of cold air and woman hurried inside. She stomped her feet on the mat and shook snow off her pants.

"Wow it's cold out there!" she exclaimed. "Talk about getting dumped on for our first snow of the year!" She looked up and spotted Cloud, stopping in surprise. "Oh I'm sorry, I thought you were someone else!" She removed her hat and long black hair fell around her shoulders. Her brown eyes were kind as she smiled at Cloud. Cloud forced himself to focus on her face and not her large breasts.

"I'm Tifa! I work here, so if you need anything just holler. I've got to put my coat in the back."

She hurried past Cloud into the room where Leon had vanished. Cloud could hear them talking and turned back to the door. Slowly, shops were starting to turn on their lights and the streets began filling with people and cars.

Leon finally returned from the backroom, wearing thick gloves and a hat. "I need to shovel the store entrance first," he explained to Cloud. Cloud nodded.

"Would you like some help?" he offered.

Leon stared at him. "No."

Cloud shrugged as the older man walked past him briskly. With nothing better to do, Cloud decided to go back upstairs and wait. Suddenly, a loud scream echoed from the upstairs apartment. Cloud's heart jumped into his throat and he ran up the steps two at a time, ignoring a confused Tifa. He heard crying and shouting and burst into the kitchen of the small apartment.

Aerith was standing at the counter, looking confused and upset. On the floor, Harry was covering his head and crying loudly. Sora was trying to talk to him but Harry wasn't listening. Roxas had placed himself in between his brothers and the brunette woman, glaring at her.

"What did you do to my brother?!" Roxas shouted angrily.

"I—I didn't..."

Cloud shoved past her and knelt down in front of Harry. He gently pulled Harry's arms down and checked him for injury.

"You did too!" Roxas yelled. "I saw you use magic! You did something to him!"

Cloud whipped around in shock. "You're a _witch_?"

Aerith looked put out by the reaction she was getting. "Well yes, I am, but I didn't do the magic Ben saw, _Cody_ did."

Cloud's eyes widened. He turned to Harry in shock. "_You're_ a wizard?"

Harry looked at Cloud terrified, large tears falling from his eyes. "Please don't hate me..."

"Hate you?" Cloud asked. "Why would I hate you?"

Harry didn't answer and shoved past Cloud and his brothers, running up the stairs to hide. Leon entered the kitchen just in time to see the little boy run away and he scowled, turning to his sister for an explanation. Aerith shrugged in confusion, not sure what to say.

"Boys," Cloud snapped. Roxas and Sora jumped. "Stay right here. Don't move and don't make a sound. I'll be right back."

Sora opened his mouth to ask if his brother was alright but Roxas shushed him. Cloud hurried upstairs and stood in front of the bedroom they were currently using. He placed a hand on the door and listened. He could faintly hear Harry crying.

Cloud knocked on the door. "Harry, I'm coming in."

Cloud shut the door behind him and looked around the room. He knelt on the floor and peered under the bed, finding a tearful Harry hiding. Cloud stared at him worriedly.

"What in the world is the problem, runt?"

Harry sniffed. "You _know_."

"Know what?"

"That I'm a _freak_. I'm a _wizard_."

"So?" Cloud shook his head, still confused. "That's nothing to be ashamed of."

"Yes it is," Harry cried. "Normal people shouldn't be around freaks like me. Freaks like me should be shut away under the stairs."

Suddenly, Cloud remembered the very first time he had met Harry. He had been terrified of Cloud and made him promise not to hide him away. The note his mother had left stated the people they had tried to leave Harry with after his parent's death were cruel to him. Is this why? Did those people hate him because he had magic?

"Harry, look at me." Cloud's voice was firm and Harry looked at him with tearful eyes. His crying had made the contacts dissolve faster than normal and his natural green eyes were showing through the artificial blue. "I don't know where you got this crap from, but I _promise, _I don't think you're a freak and there's no way I would ever lock you up because you have magic."

Harry sniffed, "Really?"

"Really. Come on now," Cloud pulled him out from under the bed and set him on the mattress, kneeling in front of him. "You may not have been with us that long, but you're family. I love you, runt. I don't care if you have magic or not, okay?"

Harry hiccuped. "But Roxas and Sora..."

"Are going to think this is the coolest thing in the world," Cloud assured. Harry hugged him tightly and Cloud returned the gestured, rubbing his back. "I promise, Harry, you're family now. And I love you, no matter what you are."

The door creaked open and two heads stuck around the corner, looking nervous. Cloud smiled and waved his little brothers in. They slammed the door behind them and jumped on the bed.

"Are you okay?" Sora asked worriedly, taking Harry's hand.

Harry nodded, sniffing.

"Here," Roxas held out a wad of toilet paper. "I thought you might need it."

Harry took it and blew his nose.

Cloud smiled. "Runts, I've got some news. Harry is a wizard."

Harry looked terrified that Cloud has announced his secret. He looked at Roxas and Sora apprehensively. However, Sora and Roxas grinned widely.

"Awesome!" Sora exclaimed.

"Is that why you were sad?" Roxas asked. "Why would you be sad about that? This is so cool!"

"Think about all the candy we can steal!" Sora exclaimed.

"No, let's not think about that," Cloud interrupted. "Let's just relax for a second."

"I am sleepy," Harry admitted quietly.

"Well a nap sounds good," Cloud agreed.

"Naps are for babies!" Sora pouted.

Cloud laughed slightly. "No, naps are for emotionally exhausted people and they sound great right now."

"What's an emotionally exhausted person?" Roxas asked.

"Me," Cloud muttered. He pushed all three boys down. "Now be quiet for a minute."

Cloud sat on the floor, resting his head on the mattress. The boys lay down and Harry closed his eyes while Roxas and Sora tried to lay still. Eventually, they relaxed and closed their eyes too. Cloud didn't move until he was sure all three were asleep and his legs started to cramp from how he was sitting. Carefully, Cloud stood and padded to the door. He opened it quietly and snuck out of the of the room, nearly jumping in surprise when he came face to face with Leon, who was waiting for him in the hall. Without a word, Leon turned and went downstairs. Cloud followed him with a depressed sigh.

Leon didn't waste anytime with small talk. As soon as Cloud sat at the kitchen table across from Aerith, Leon started asking questions.

"Who are you? Are those kids really your brothers or did kidnap them?"

"No!" Cloud insisted. "I didn't kidnap them! They're my brothers! They are!"

"Why did Cody—"

"His name's not Cody," Leon interrupted his sister. "I heard you call him Harry."

"That's his real name..." Cloud whispered.

"What's yours? What are there's?" Leon placed his hands on the table. "You need to start talking or I'm calling the police."

"No don't please," Cloud begged. "They'll take them away from me."

"That might be a good thing," Leon growled. "Do you hurt them? Did you tell Harry to hide his magic or he'd be punished?"

"No! I didn't even know he had magic!" Cloud grabbed his hair frustration. The situation was out of control. He needed to run. He needed to get his brothers and get away from here as quickly as he could.

"How could you not know?" Leon pressed. "Aerith saw it the moment she met him. What's wrong with you that you didn't notice?"

Cloud shook his head. What was wrong with him? He had spent every minute of the last year with Harry, how could he have missed something so huge? Cloud had been so focused on keeping them moving, finding somewhere safe they could sleep, finding their next meal. He had been so intense about making sure they were safe that he had missed something hugely important.

"That's it," Leon straitened. "I'm calling the police."

"No!" Cloud reached out for him. "I have to take care of them, I _promised._"

"Promised who?"

"My mother. She just disappeared one day and reappeared on out of nowhere to give me another kid to look after. I have no idea who Harry is or where he came from! I just promised to take care of him."

And then Cloud found himself telling them everything. He told them about his parents abandoning them, about his mother showing up, not to come back and apologize for leaving, but to give him Harry and leave again. He told them about living out of the car and that the police had a warrant out for his arrest.

Cloud confessed everything to the two strangers he had met the day before because he felt that if he didn't tell someone, his heart would explode. He had been alone with his burden for so long. He didn't know why all this had happened to him and how his life had spiraled so far out of control. So Cloud did the only thing he could think of and talked. Even if they couldn't help him, Cloud just needed someone to know, to understand. He needed someone to tell him what he was doing was right.

When Cloud finally finished speaking, he felt both sick and relieved at once. The secret that had been eating away at him for an entire year was gone but the fear of the repercussions of that secret were making its way into Cloud's head. His hands were shaking and he felt lightheaded.

"Aerith," Leon's voice broke the silence after Cloud's minor breakdown. "Take Cloud upstairs. He needs rest."

Without another word, Leon turned and left. Aerith looked after him in confusion before turning to Cloud. "Come on dear," she gently guided him to his feet. "Your brothers aren't the only ones who need a nap."

Cloud was too exhausted to argue and he allowed himself to be guided upstairs to the bedroom. He ignored Aerith when he entered and carefully crawled into bed with his brothers, placing Sora on his chest so he could fit with them on the small bed.

If this was his last day of freedom, he wanted to spend it holding what was left of his family.

* * *

Aerith set the tray of sandwiches she had made down on the kitchen table with a sigh. It had been almost three hours since Cloud's confession and her brother's abrupt departure. Aerith knew the little boys had woken because she could hear their voices. But when she went to check on them they had managed to put the small dresser in the room in front of the door. She had tried to encourage them to come out by making lunch but the boys had steadfastly refused and ignored her. Her heart went out to the family, they had been through such hardship in the past year.

The door opened and Leon entered, shaking snow from his hair. Aerith took his coat and hung it near the door.

"Where have you been?" she asked.

"Library. Are they still here?"

"Yes, they've barricaded themselves in. What was at the library?"

Leon handed her some papers and Aerith looked at the headlines.

_Parents Disappear: Leave Behind Three Sons, Parents of Missing Children Still Not Found, Children of Missing Parents: Kidnapped by Older Brother , Months without any Leads on Kidnapped Children, Police at Lose._

Aerith looked at the pictures, surprised to see Cloud's image on the front page. Sora and Roxas' pictures were smaller and underneath his.

"So his story was true?" Aerith asked. "But these articles don't mention Harry."

"They wouldn't," Leon shrugged. "Cloud said that his mother just dropped him in his lap the day they ran away. The paper's wouldn't know about him."

"What are we going to do?"

"I'm going to talk to Cloud."

Leon left kitchen and made his way upstairs. The door was blocked shut. He scowled in annoyance before shoving the door open slowly. The dresser slid along the carpet easily and Leon slipped in the room, flicking the light on. The boys were glaring angrily at him and Cloud was sitting up, rubbing his eyes. He had been asleep until the noise Leon made woke him up.

Leon stared down at the kids. "Aerith made lunch, go get it." All three boys started to protest but Leon snapped his fingers harshly and pointed at the door. "Out! Now!"

Startled, they ran from the room. Leon shut the door behind them and leaned against the wall, staring at Cloud. The teen was sitting on the bed, his head hung sadly.

"Did you call the police?"

Instead of answering, Leon asked a question of his own. "How old are you? Really."

"Seventeen."

"Hm." Leon studied Cloud's small form. He looked so defeated, sitting on a too small bed, his spiky hair matted down slightly with dirt. His clothes were ill fitting and he had holes in his shoes. Leon thought carefully and realized that only Cloud looked homeless. The boys all wore clothes that fit nicely and they all had new shoes. They always said please and thank you, unlike most children their age, and they were always laughing. That's what struck Leon the most, the boys were always happy.

"I was sixteen," Leon started. Cloud looked up. "When my parents kicked me out. My parents are powerful wizards and when it became clear I was nothing more than an average norm, they kicked me out and disowned me."

Cloud's eyes were wide. "You're parents disowned you for being normal?"

Leon nodded. "Is that why your parents left? You said your father was a fighter, right?"

"My mom was a normal," Cloud explained. "My dad didn't care that I was one too. He always said he loved me no matter what I was."

Leon nodded, thinking. Cloud frowned.

"You didn't call the police."

"No."

"Why?"

Leon shrugged. "Because when I lost everything, I only had the courage to move three blocks away from my family. You had the strength to run across the country and take three other people with you."

"I would hardly call it strength," Cloud said bitterly. "More like fear."

Leon shrugged at him. "Whatever you want to call it, I'm impressed. I have an opening for a night clerk at my store. I'll pay under the table, so you don't have to worry about a background check or being in the system."

"What?"

"I'm offering you job," Leon grumbled. "You and your brothers can stay in this room until you've saved enough money to get a place of your own." When Cloud didn't answer, Leon raised an eyebrow at him. "Well?"

"Well what?"

Leon rolled his eyes. "Well do you accept my offer or not?"

Slowly, Cloud nodded his head, still staring at Leon in disbelief. Leon smirked at him.

"Good, you start tonight."

* * *

Months later, Cloud unlocked a green door and shoved it open. The apartment was stuffy, having been shut up all winter. It was on the small side, with two bedrooms and one large bathroom. The kitchen was small and divided from the living room by a counter top that wrapped around in a C shape. A large sliding door led from the living room to a small balcony.

Cloud ushered his brothers inside and set down their belongings in the living room. The boys ran around the apartment curiously, looking at everything.

"What's this place?" Roxas asked coming out from the smaller of the two rooms.

"Well runts, this our new home."

The boys looked at him in confusion.

"Leon's going to give us the beds from his place and Aerith said she has some old furniture in storage that she didn't mind giving us."

"We're not going to live with Leon anymore?" Harry asked.

"No, we're going to live here."

"For how long?" Sora said.

Cloud shrugged. "For as long as we want. This place is ours now."

The boys stared up at him, slowly smiling. "So this is our home?" Roxas asked quietly. Cloud nodded and the three jumped, cheering loudly. They grabbed their backpacks and ran to the bedrooms, fighting over which one was the best.

For the first time since his parents had abandoned their family over a year ago, Cloud finally allowed himself to relax and call a new place home.

**A/N: This story is weird. Obviously the next chapter will be well into the future. The boys will be teenagers and we'll start to introduce other characters.**


	4. First Day Part One

**A/N: There's a time skip from last chapter. The boys are teenagers now.**

**Chapter Four: First Day Part One**

Roxas blinked his eyes, slowly waking up. An offensive smell assaulted his nostrils and he scrunched up his face. He squinted to look at his chest and saw a foot laying on it. With an annoyed growl, Roxas shoved the limb away.

"Get your disgusting feet away from my face, Sora!"

His brother blinked in confusion, still half asleep. "What? Stop shoving me Roxas."

"Then get off of me!"

"Will you two shut up?" Harry's muffled voice was annoyed. "I'm trying to sleep."

"Roxas is the one throwing a hissy fit."

"Shut up," Roxas grumbled. He rolled off the edge of the bed and tossed the covers back up when Sora whined loudly. Roxas stood and stretched, looking around the small room he shared with his brothers.

It had one window and clothes strewn everywhere. A desk was pressed against the wall by the window and had an old computer sitting on it. All three twin sized beds were shoved together against the back wall. They had decided long ago that pushing the beds together and up to the wall gave them more space to move around in. Years after that decision had been made, fifteen year old Roxas was wondering if it was time to rearrange. He was really getting tired of waking up with someone's foot in his face.

Roxas left to use the bathroom just as Harry sat up and stretched. He climbed over the sleeping Sora and hopped off the bed. He looked around the messy room with a scowl. No matter how neat he tried to keep the room, his brothers always messed it up. He was really getting tired of being the only one who cleaned.

Harry left to find some food just as Sora kicked the covers off and sighed in annoyance. He hated mornings more than anything. His brothers always woke up too early and they always insisted on making noise or complaining about something and waking him up in the process. He looked around the empty room and frowned at the bare walls. He would love to put some posters up but the three boys could never agree on what to hang. Cloud had made it perfectly clear that nothing was put up unless all three agreed on it.

Sora left the room and bumped into Roxas, who grunted at him. In the kitchen, Cloud was standing at the stove, making breakfast. Harry was buttering toast to help out. Roxas sat at the table and Sora took a seat next to him.

"Morning," Sora greeted Cloud. "How was work?"

"Slow," Cloud answered. He shut the electric stove off and and placed the hot pan on a pot holder in the center of the table. "Don't forget you have studies today with Aerith an hour late."

"We know," Roxas assured. "Do you have work again tonight?"

"Yeah, but I want all of you to stay at Leon's when you're done with class. We have to talk about something."

"Whatever it was, I didn't do it!" Sora declared.

Cloud rolled his eyes at the boy. "I'm going to bed. I'll see you guys tonight."

"Night," the teens called as Cloud stumbled to his room.

"What do you guys want to do after class?" Sora asked, taking a bite of food.

His brothers shrugged. "We could go to the park," Harry suggested.

"We always do that," Roxas dismissed. "I want to go swimming."

"Cloud won't let us take the car and the beach is too far to walk," Sora muttered.

"There's nothing fun to do in this town," Harry complained. "Anything interesting is in the city and we never get to go because we can't drive."

"I wish Cloud would let us use the car. He barely uses it anymore because he can walk to work."

"Yeah right," Roxas muttered. "Cloud let us touch his precious car? With the way he acts you'd think he's forgotten we used to live in the thing."

"Maybe Aerith will give us a lift when we're done with our studies?"

Roxas and Sora nodded. "Hey, that's a good idea, Harry."

"Yeah, smart thinking... for once."

The boys finished their breakfast and Harry cleaned up the dishes while Sora took a shower. They didn't have a TV or internet connection, so Roxas grabbed one of the books Aerith had assigned and sat down to read until it was his turn to shower.

The morning went by smoothly and the three left the apartment on time, carrying their book bags with them. Leon's store was only a couple blocks away so the walk was quick. They entered the store and made their way to the back.

"Hey boys!" Tifa greeted cheerfully. The woman was sitting in the back room with books spread out before her. She was carefully eating her lunch while scanning the pages intensely.

"Hi Tifa," they chorused.

"What you looking at?" Harry asked curiously, peeking at the books.

She quickly bent over the pages, waving them away. "Go away! These are my secret plans! I've told you before you can't look!"

The triplets rolled their eyes and yelled goodbye as they tromped upstairs. The door to Leon's apartment was open and they left themselves in. Aerith was in the living room, setting up their work stations.

"Hey guys," she greeted. "Thanks for coming late today, I had something to do this morning."

"No problem," Sora assured her. He tossed his backpack on the floor. "We are totally okay with losing out on an hour."

Aerith paused. "No, you're not losing an hour, you're just going to stay an hour later. Didn't Cloud tell you?"

The teens glared at their older brother who wasn't there. He had not mentioned they would be staying later than usual.

Aerith giggled. "Well you are. So take your seats and lets get started. We're going to start with history today."

The boys took notes and listened to Aerith's lectures for the rest of the day. Aerith had been homeschooling them ever since they were children. They would always come over to Leon's apartment and sit in the living room for their studies. The arrangement had been made originally to help Cloud out, who couldn't afford a babysitter. He would sleep during the day and Aerith would sit the kids down and teach them. When they were younger, they spent the night most of the week at Leon's place while Cloud worked his night shift.

After finishing with the main topics, Aerith ordered everyone to put their books away. "Okay, Sora, Roxas, Leon is out back and waiting for you. Harry, you and I are going to go on a field trip."

"Why does he get to go somewhere?" Sora demanded.

"Because we need to get him something special today," Aerith told them patiently. "Now go on you two. You know Leon doesn't like to be kept waiting."

The two mumbled under their breath before going downstairs. Aerith grabbed her coat and lead the way outside. She yelled a quick goodbye to Tifa and ushered Harry into her small pink car.

"Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise."

Harry shrugged and enjoyed the drive. They entered the city and Aerith navigated the roads with ease. Harry stared at all the tall buildings and marveled at the diverse people walking around. He rarely got to travel into the city.

Aerith pulled into a parking lot for an unmarked store. Harry looked around curiously and pointed at another vehicle. "What's Cloud doing here?"

"That's part of the surprise."

They climbed from the car and Harry spotted his brother waiting by the door to the shop. They walked over and Harry smiled, confused. "So what's going on, guys?"

Aerith was bouncing on her feet, smiling widely. Cloud answered. "Aerith and I have talked about it, and we've decided you're ready for your own wand."

Harry's eye opened wide. "My own... really?"

"Oh yes, dear," Aerith laughed. "Really, its overdue. We should have gotten you one sooner. Most kids get their first wand on their eleventh birthday."

"Are you ready?" Cloud asked, smiling. Harry nodded enthusiastically and ran into the store.

* * *

Harry ran up the stairs, taking them two at a time. He burst into the kitchen where Leon, Roxas, and Sora were sitting. The three were covered in sweat and dirt and the two teens were grinning widely.

"Guys!" Harry exclaimed. "You'll never guess what I got!"

"You'll never guess what we got!" Sora jumped up.

"Look!" the three boys screamed in unison.

Harry held his wand out at the same time Roxas and Sora summoned their new key shaped weapons. They stared at each other for a moment before yelling in unison again.

"You got a wand!"

"You got a weapon!"

Before the adults in the room could stop them, the brothers traded items, passing around the keyblades and new wand. Sora spotted Cloud and ran over. "Look Cloud!" he held out his keyblade and Cloud smiled with pride.

"Congratulations." He looked over at Leon. "When did they appear?"

"During training," Leon answered. "They appeared to protect one other."

"Do you want to hold it?" Sora asked, holding his weapon out.

Cloud smiled, a little sad, and reached for the blade. Light flashed and the weapon vanished into thin air, much to Sora's surprise. "Norms can't touch fighter weapons or hold wands. The world of magic and fighting isn't meant for them so the weapons and wands retreat."

The boys nodded and Cloud gestured for them to sit at the table. "Well, this makes things somewhat easier. Okay runts, you know that since we've moved here you've been home schooled by Aerith."

"Oh is that we're doing every day from eleven to four?" Roxas interrupted.

"Shut up," Cloud ordered. "I don't know if I ever explained to you why we chose homeschooling instead of public school and I figured, now that you're old enough, it was time to tell you." Cloud took a deep breath, ready to blurt out a secret he'd kept for over eight years, but Roxas beat him to it.

"It's because the law thinks you kidnapped us, right?"

Cloud blinked, staring at him.

"I know how to use the internet," Roxas informed him.

"We found out a few years ago," Sora joined in. "We um... well we wanted to know about mom and dad."

Cloud frowned. "Why didn't you ask me?"

The boys shrugged. "We didn't want to upset you. We had finally made a real life here and everything was going so well. We didn't want to bring up unhappy memories."

"We didn't want you to know that we'd found out either cuz we thought it might upset you," Harry said. "Although I would like to point out that I am not mentioned in any news article or police report, therefor, you have not been accused of kidnapping me."

Cloud stared the youngest of the three. "I don't even want to know what they'll accuse me of when it comes to you." Cloud rubbed his forehead. "Well, I guess we'll just skip ahead in the conversation then."

The boys grinned widely, enjoying their brother's discomfort. They didn't often surprise Cloud and enjoyed the little moments when they managed to amaze him.

"Well it's time for this arrangement to change. Aerith has gotten a new teaching job at the integrated school so she can't tutor you anymore."

The teens whipped around to stare at the woman with slack jaws. Aerith shrugged, giggling at their faces.

"Because of this, we've decided to send you all to the same school."

The three whipped around again, this time staring at Cloud in shock.

"Aerith will be there to watch out for you and help you in anyway. She'll be the only one to know our secret and she can... take care of anything suspicious that might come up."

"But how are we going to register?" Roxas asked. "You can't register us at a new school or the police will find our missing persons records."

Leon tossed a folder on the table and Roxas grabbed it. Sora and Harry leaned over his shoulder to see the documents inside.

"These are forged birth certificates," Cloud explained. "Leon and I have been researching how to make fake documents. It's taken us a couple years to get everything right, but we're confident no one will ever know these are fake."

"These say our last name is Leonhart," Sora read. "That's Leon's last name."

"My real last name is Gainsborough," Leon explained. "I've told you before that I was disowned by my family. After that happened, I changed my last name to Leonhart. It was my grandmother's maiden name. She was the only one to speak out on my behalf when I was kicked out. She used her own money to buy me this store and apartment."

"Leon's given us permission to use his name," Cloud said. "We're going to register you for school under his name so you'll have to get used to hearing it. You won't be able to tell anyone your real last name ever again."

"But they won't find out these are fakes?"

Cloud shrugged. "It's always possible but very unlikely. Public schools only require you turn in a copy of your birth certificate, they don't go digging around looking for phony papers."

"And if something does go wrong, I can always sneak in and fix it." Aerith waved her fingers playfully and the fake birth certificates flew around the table. Harry grabbed his from the air and stared at it in wonder.

"This says I'm one of you," he whispered.

"What's that mean?" Sora asked.

"Harry, you've always been one of us, ever since the day I got you," Cloud assured him. "This piece of paper is just a means to get you into school. Without or without it, you're family."

Harry blushed at the kind words and smiled when Roxas nudged him and rolled his eyes.

"Alright runts, it's time to get to work. We've got a whole new cover story that we need to memorize inside and out."

Cloud pulled out a notebook with their new story written on it and began lecturing on who they were going to be.

* * *

Later that night, Harry sat up in bed, staring at the birth certificate Cloud had given him. Fake or not, Harry couldn't help but love the thing. They all carried the fear that one day they would be caught and Cloud would be carted off to prison, but for Harry, the fear went even further. He had no blood or legal connections to his family. If Cloud was taken away, Sora and Roxas would stay together because they would still be brothers, but Harry would be sent away to who knew where.

But not anymore. Now Harry had legal proof, even if it was forged, that he belonged with his brothers. If someone ever tried to send him away, he could wave this document in their face.

"What are doing?" Sora's tired voice was muffled by the blankets over is head. "Go to sleep."

"Stop staring at that piece of paper," Roxas' voice joined Sora. "It's not going anywhere."

Harry smiled at them in the dark. He carefully levitated the paper onto the desk near the window and lay down.

"And neither am I," he whispered.

* * *

A week went by since Cloud had told them they were going to start school. The boys had spent everyday memorizing their new life story and getting ready. If anyone asked, they're parents had been killed in a car accident when they were younger and Cloud was able to receive custody of them. Their father was a fighter and their mother a witch, explaining how Roxas and Sora had weapons but Harry was a wizard. Cloud was to be considered a squib, having not inherited either trait from their parents. The morning of the first day came faster than anyone thought and the three boys now sat together at the kitchen table, poking at the food Cloud had made them.

Cloud glanced at his brothers and shook his head. He had made a large breakfast to celebrate the new school year but the boys weren't eating.

"Nervous?" Cloud asked.

He received three shrugs in response.

"Don't be. I'm confident that you guys know our story inside and out. And remember, you don't have to mention it if no one asks."

"It's not that," Roxas sighed.

"Yeah, we're good at lying," Sora muttered.

Cloud stared at them, waiting to hear the actual problem.

Harry spoke, "I've never been to public school."

Sora and Roxas looked mildly surprised. "We went to school for kindergarten and first grade," Roxas said. "But then mom and dad disappeared and we left with Cloud. I don't remember it very well."

"I remember all the people," Sora said. "I remember there were always lots of kids and teachers around. There was always someone to talk to, even if you were supposed to be quiet, someone always talked."

Harry frowned, trying to remember his life before Cloud and the others. He had blocked most of the memories out because it was so terrible. He remembered watching a boy the same age as him happily going to school and returning home with stories of how fun it was and being extremely jealous of him. He had stolen the boy's books once, to look at the pictures, because he couldn't read at the time.

"You three will be fine," Cloud assured them. "Just be polite and if anything goes wrong, Aerith will be there to help. I thought you'd be excited. Remember when I sent you to camp a couple summers ago? You three loved that."

"That was fun," Sora agreed. He shoved some food into his mouth. "If school was like that, then this will be fun."

Feeling better, the boys quickly ate their food and followed Cloud downstairs to the car. The school was a ten minute drive away and sat at the top of large hill. It was a huge building, standing three stories tall. Outside had a track and field area, baseball diamond, soccer and football fields. The building had three full sized gymnasiums, one which housed an open-air water sphere and two pools. Behind the school was a quidditch stadium and multiple parking lots. The school itself was separated into three buildings, one building for each grade level. The campus was so large that shuttle buses were available to take people from one end to the other.

Cloud followed the line of traffic to the main building and pulled up to the sidewalk. The triplets stared at the people walking around in wonder. Everywhere, groups of different people gathered. Wizards were sitting under a tree, showing off their wands and casting small spells for their amusement. By the front of the building, fighters were showing off their weapons and play wrestling with each other. Most of the norms weren't hanging around outside. As soon as they found their friends they would hurry into the building, casting nervous or jealous looks at the fighters and wizards.

"Okay, runts, you ready to go?" Cloud asked.

Harry grabbed the rear view mirror and poked at his hair and eyes. "My disguise is good, right? You can't tell?"

"It's fine. Do you have the dye with you in case you need to reapply it?"

"Yeah," Harry patted his pocket.

"Then have a good first day of school."

They hesitated for a moment before climbing from the car. They waved as Cloud drove away and turned to the intimidating building.

"Aerith said everyone goes to their homeroom first," Roxas explained. "She said the listings for the room are in the cafeteria."

Together, the three made their way to the double doors. Sora and Roxas eyed the fighters curiously, while Harry kept glancing back at the wizards. They made their way inside and noticed how loud it was. Groups of kids were talking, their voices echoing off the tile floors and high ceilings. Sora pointed at a row of multiple chalk boards where others were gathered, searching for their names. The three walked over and noticed that everything was alphabetized. Roxas and Harry turned to the board labeled L through P but Sora started for the board that said Q-S.

Roxas grabbed his brother, rolling his eyes. "L for Leonhart, remember stupid?"

"Hehe, oops."

"Don't start screwing up on the first day," Roxas' scolded.

"I know I know!"

"Found it!" Harry called. He pointed at their names on a piece of paper. "We are in building one, room six... with Ms. Gainsborough."

"Awesome," Sora exclaimed.

"This is building one, right?" Harry asked.

"There's a map."

The boys made their way to a large map, standing back a little ways because of how many people were crowded around. Roxas, being the tallest of the three, stood on his toes and squinted to get a better look.

"This is building one, and we need to go down that hallway." He pointed to his left where a carpeted hallway disappeared around the corner. Suddenly, a loud chime echoed around them. Kids stopped talking and looked around for the source of the sound. A commanding voice spoke as the chimes died.

"Attention students and faculty, classes will begin in exactly ten minutes. Everyone is to start making their way to their assigned rooms. If you need help locating where to go, teachers and school workers will be walking around to answer any questions. Your lockers will be assigned to you by your homeroom teachers. Thank you."

Students began gathering their things and saying goodbye to friends after the announcement ended. The cafeteria suddenly became more crowded as everyone came in from outside, making their way to their classes. The boys squeezed through the crowds, following Roxas to their classroom. The hallway was lined with lockers but no one was using them yet.

Class six was on the first floor, towards the end of the building. By the time they found it, another chime had announced classes would start in five minutes. Their homeroom was longer than it was wide and filled with tables instead of individual desks. Aerith was sitting at her desk, watching everyone file in with a soft smile. Sora waved at her before Roxas gestured to a set of three chairs that hadn't been claimed yet. They sat together just as the final bell for classes rang.

Aerith stood and called for everyone to take a seat. It took a minute for the students to get settled but Aerith was patient. Once all eyes where on her, she began to speak.

"Hello everyone, I'll be your homeroom teach Ms. Gainsborough. Today is mostly going to be used—" She was interrupted abruptly as a boy appeared next to her in the front of the classroom. He was tall and skinny, with long red hair spiked backwards down his back. His bright green eyes were wide with confusion as he looked around.

"What the hell? Where am I?"

"Young man, apparition is against school rules," Aerith scolded.

"Apparition? What the hell is that?" the teen glared at her. "I traded insults with some stupid wizard kid and next thing I know, I'm standing here." Suddenly, there was a flash of fire and the boy was holding two circular weapons with spikes. "When I get my hands on that stupid wizard I'm going to beat the crap outta him!"

The fighters present in the room cheered loudly and Harry, along with the other wizards, leaned away from them. Aerith, however, was not impressed.

"You will do no such thing," she told him, her tone leaving no room for nonsense. "Tell me your name and what year you are in."

"Axel Lea, I'm a junior."

Aerith typed the name into the computer and quickly scribbled a note. She handed the paper to Axel. "Please give this to your teacher."

Axel took it with a scowl. "Fine, where's my room assignment?"

Aerith smirked and raised her wand. "I'll send you there now."

"Now wait a minute—!"

His words were cut off as Aerith flicked her wrist and he vanished. She put her wand away and turned to her stunned class with a smile.

"Now, where was I?" she turned to the board and wrote her name down. "My name is Ms. Gainsborough and I'll be your homeroom teacher for the rest of the year. As I call you name, please raise your hand so I may pass out your schedules. Weasley, Ron."

A redheaded boy sitting with the wizards raised his hand. Aerith handed him his schedule. "Malfoy, Draco?" The blonde sitting next to Ron smirked and took the paper from Aerith.

The list went on before Aerith turned towards the triplets. "And the three Leonhart boys, Sora, Roxas, and Harry." She handed their schedules to them and class peered at the boys curiously. The hadn't noticed the triplets until Aerith walked up to them.

"Now that everyone has their schedule, you'll notice some similarities about them. All of your classes will be mixed between wizards, fighters, and norms, with the exception of specialized training courses. Obviously wand control will only be for wizards, as no one else has a wand. The same for weapons training."

"What special classes do they have for norms? Coward Class?" a young wizard sitting next to Draco, joked loudly.

"Hand to hand combat," Aerith yelled loudly over the laughing. She turned to the group of norms, who were glaring at everyone. "And we're very excited for the new teacher this year, she is amazingly skilled."

Aerith returned to the front of the class and smiled. "Well we still have a few minutes left, go ahead and use this time to compare schedules. I'll pass out maps of the school so it's easier to find your way around."

The students turned to the people sitting next to them and began comparing schedules. Harry rested his chin Roxas' shoulder so he could see his brothers' schedules. Roxas and Sora had identical classes and Harry shared most of them but not all. He had was in a different gym class, and, like Aerith had said, had wand training on his own. He pouted at the papers.

"Don't look like that." Sora poked his cheek, trying to get him to smile. "It's two classes. You'll be fine."

"Easy for you to say, you'll have Roxas the whole time."

Aerith walked over and placed three maps on the table. "Boys, you shouldn't sit here by yourselves, go mingle."

The boys glanced past her to the other students. Everyone was glaring at each other. Roxas shook his head. "No thanks."

She sighed and leaned closer to them. "Boys, part of the reason Cloud wanted you to come to school was so that you could socialize with kids your age. You've been around adults your whole life, it's time to cut loose a little." She held her finger up warningly. "A very little, we still expect you to behave."

"We'll socialize," Sora promised. "We're just going to wait until someone better comes along."

The teacher shook her head and straightened suddenly. "Oh class!" she clapped her hands to get everyone's attention. "I forgot to tell you. At the top of your schedules is your locker number and combination. I'm going to let you leave early today so you can find them and have enough time to get to your next class."

Happily, the students gathered their things and began leaving. Aerith bid farewell to the triplets as they left, searching for their lockers. Lockers were assigned alphabetically by grade, so the three had them next to each other. They didn't have anything to store in them yet, so the boys just shut them, making sure they knew where to come when they needed them.

"So we have science and potions next," Roxas read his schedule. "With Mr. Snape."

They made their way upstairs, trying not to get jostled by the crowds of students. Roxas stopped and pointed down a hallway. The redhead who had appeared in their classroom was at the end of the hall, fighting with another boy. The boy suddenly drew a wand and Axel summoned his weapons. Everyone jumped back, forming a circle, but before a fight could break out, a woman shoved her way through the crowds, shouting.

"That's enough! Put those away before I beat the snot out of both of you!"

Sora slapped Harry on the arm. "It's Tifa!"

"Tifa's a teacher here?"

They watched as Tifa placed herself between the two teenagers glaring harshly with her hands on her hips. "There is absolutely no fighting on school grounds!"

"Who's going to stop me?" Axel growled. "Some _norm_ teacher?"

Tifa smirked at him. "If you think you can get past me, you're more than welcome to try."

Axel grinned viciously. "With pleasure!"

He charged at her, raising his weapons. Tifa casually stepped back and dodged the strikes. She grabbed Axel's arm and twisted it, kneeing him in the gut. She then grabbed his hair, holding his head still while touching the weapons. They vanished into thin air as soon as her fingers got close.

"It's the principal's office for you," she sang happily, dragging a shouting Axel after her by the hair. With the show now over, the students began to disperse, talking excitedly about what had happened.

"Poor guy didn't know what was coming," Sora shook his head.

Roxas and Harry laughed, continuing on to their next class.

The science room was filled with tables set up to accommodate four people. The triplets quickly claimed one for themselves and waited for the teacher to arrive. Harry noticed the blond wizard, Draco, from their homeroom was sitting up front. The gang of kids who hovered around him was absent.

The bell chimed to start class and the door was kicked open, startling everyone. A greasy haired man wearing a flowing lap coat stormed in, glaring at all of them.

"Take your seats," he ordered. Everyone who wasn't already sitting obeyed quickly. "This class is a blended class. Here, you will learn the exact art of the sciences and the seductive ways of potion making. There will be many group projects in this class, as there are some potions that can not be made by those who do not posses magic. How many wizards are in the class?"

The wizards raised their hands and Snape took them all in. He stopped when his eyes came to rest on Harry and he scowled. "You," he stepped forward menacingly. "What is the difference between Monkshood and Wolfsbane?"

Harry blinked and answered hesitatingly. "Um, I think they're the same thing."

Snape towered over him and Harry leaned back in seat.

"You _think_?" he demanded.

Harry swallowed. "I'm sure. They're the same thing."

Snape leaned away, staring at him thoughtfully. Without warning, he rounded on Roxas. "You, what are you?"

Roxas was startled by the abrupt question. He glared at the teacher, not liking the way he spoke to them. "A human being. What are you?" The class stifled their giggles.

"The arrogance of a fighter," Snape sneered. "How plebeian. What will I get if I add Powdered Root of Asphodel to an infusion of Wormwood?"

"A sleeping potion," Roxas answered easily.

Snape was defiantly surprised that he knew the answer. He turned to Sora. "And you. Where would you look if I tell you to find me a Bezoar?"

"A goat's stomach," Sora answered quickly.

Snape glared at the three. "I will not have a troupe of... circus brothers making a mockery of my class. I expect nothing but excellence in this room."

He returned to the front of the room and the boys relaxed. Sora looked at his brothers, mouthing _Holy crap_.

"Eyes up front!" Snape yelled, making everyone jump. "Get out a notebook and take this down. There will be a quiz at the end of the period."

Everyone scrambled to obey as Snape began lecturing.

**A/N: I'm sorry for not updating this in so long. It's a weird story and I'm not sure where I'm going with it. Well this was part one of their first day of school. The questions Snape asked are from the first Harry Potter book. **

**Please review if you have a moment. :)**


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